


Schismatic

by StargateNerd



Category: Magic Kaito, Meitantei Conan | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Is it technically underage since it's Conan/Shinichi?, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Yeah that happened, eh i'll tag it anyways, like besides kissing, nothing actually really /happens/, shrug.jpg, the story went in a direction i didn't anticipate it going, you may have noticed the ship tags changed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-24
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2017-11-08 11:58:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/442967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StargateNerd/pseuds/StargateNerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Sometimes the simplest answer is the correct one.” Unfortunately, Occam's Razor rarely applies where the Detective of the East is concerned. </p><p>Edogawa Conan has a secret known to only one person. But after a startling event at a KID heist, his secret may not be so safe anymore, and he is left with few choices that will not lead to blood and death. What he didn’t expect was for someone who knows exactly what he’s going through to be there for him, to help him and to guide him through the darkness…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: A Reproba Voluntas Obses

**Author's Note:**

> ****  
>    
>  _Disclaimer: SG-chan does not own Detective Conan/Magic Kaito, and any characters you may find familiar from either series. The only thing she does own is the insane plot and any OCs (which, besides dead people, there will not be many of). I'm not saying this again, so READ THIS AND REMEMBER IT!_
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> Hey, SG-chan here, with my new story, _Schismatic_! I'm working on a fic trailer for this right now, btw ^^ Warning you here, SG-chan is experimenting with a new genre for her: Horror. That, and this is officially her first M-rated DCMK fic! XD *squee*
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> **Bess: Hurry up, will you?**
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> Shush, snakey-san, I'm hurrying!
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> **Bess: *growls* Who the hell are the calling 'snakey'?**
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> *gulp* Uh, I think I'll go onto the warnings. Uh, yaoi, gore, shouta-con to some extent (I's been reading lots of Kuroshitsuji lately, ever since I got into it x3), general pervertedness, OOCness ( ~~ ***spoiler*** which is to be expected with mental illnesses ***spoiler***~~ ), and the occasional sexual situation.
> 
> And now I think this beginning AN is longer than the prologue ^^; So read and enjoy!

**Prologue**

"Damn thieves and their inability to perform heists at a reasonable hour," Nakamori Ginzo cursed as the minute hand moved closer towards the twelve. He glared at the teenager next to him. "And shouldn't you be home sleeping, Hakuba? Tomorrow  **is**  a school day, after all."

"I am quite capable of performing simple schoolwork on low sleep, keibu," the blonde replied as he kept an eye on his pocket watch. "If I were you, I'd be focusing your ire on Edogawa-kun and Mouri-tantei."

"Already tried it," Nakamori grumbled. "Apparently the elementary school kids have got tomorrow off due to staff meetings or some shit like that."

"Hmm," Saguru murmured, his amber gaze following the young enigma in glasses that was Edogawa Conan. "And Mouri-tantei does not object?"

The mustached keibu snorted. "He thinks the kid's some sort of good luck charm; so long as he doesn't get in the way at least."

The British detective's upper-lip curled in a slight sneer. Honestly, how could the man be such a good detective and yet so stupid at the same time? Saguru had never really met the man, aside from the Gathering of Detectives, but the scene now presented to him of the detective acting just all-around boorishly certainly contrasted with the public image of a suave, intelligent investigator.

Saguru's attention was drawn back to his watch as he noticed that there were only two minutes – make that one minute, fifty-eight seconds – before KID was supposed to show up. As the Kaitou KID Task Force got into position for the arrival of their arch nemesis, Hakuba vaguely reflected that he was just glad that there weren't any fangirls at this heist.

The light suddenly went out, and there was a scuffle as the Task Force attempted to form some kind of barrier around the jewel.

Hakuba heard something that sounded suspiciously like liquid splashing on someone before the screaming started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, how did y'all find it? I hope everyone liked it, and don't forget to review! Reviews is life and luff (^_^) In case you didn't notice, I'm using bold for emphasized words. Italics will also be used for thoughts, but that's later on, and it won't be too hard to distinguish one from the other.
> 
> Again, don't forget to review! Oh, and SG-chan is going to Anime Detour in April! *epic supersonic fangirl squee* I can't wait!
> 
> Chapter title translation: A False Sense of Security


	2. Chapter 1: Cruor Quod Suspicio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previet, previet, previet! Taaam SG-chaaaan! *spotlight and confetti* Okay, switching from Russian now ^^ I hope I was able to lure enough people in with my prologue. Oh, and a big thank you goes out to AEC1990 from FF.net, for pointing out some things that needed to be fixed. I have now fixed the things you found confusing, and you have not only my thanks, but cookies too! *tosses you chocolate chip cookies* Chocolate makes everything better! ^-^
> 
> Anywho, hope everyone likes, and don't forget that this is a new genre for SG-chan, plus she's writing in a bit of a new style, too. Remember, **bold** text is emphasized words, and _italics_ are thoughts, or, in some cases, flashbacks. Beware of OOCness, because it will happen. A lot. Also pervertedness and murder.  
>  Enjoy this chapter!

As the lights came back on, the reason for the screaming became clear.

Blood. There was blood.

**Everywhere.**

A few people with weaker stomachs looked green.

Saguru himself took a step back at the permeating scent of copper and iron tang in the air, but stopped when he felt something 'squish' beneath his foot. The British detective would later recall it was like watching a train wreck, as he looked down to see a severed arm squashed beneath his shoe.

_Oh, God,_  he thought faintly before his stomach attempted to expel its contents.

The screams had died down by this time, and Saguru noticed that its source seemed to be near him.

He looked over to his right to see Mouri Kogoro kneeling while attempting to calm down the Edogawa boy, whose eyes, behind those ridiculously large glasses, were wide and glassy, an almost frantic look in them (almost like corpse eyes, he absently noted).

"What's wrong?" Saguru asked as he walked over, lightly laying a hand on the boy's shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting motion.

"Don't touch me!"

Edogawa lashed out at the British detective, arms flailing.

Saguru retreated back a safe distance and looked down at his suddenly wet palm, which was smeared with red. He suddenly realized the boy's jacket (no, the boy **himself** ) had been drenched entirely in blood, and this was perhaps the reason for the earlier screams.

This was the last straw for Saguru as he hurried off to find a bathroom.

Division One was quickly called to the scene, much to the relief of those in Division Two with softer stomachs.

Satou Miwako and Takagi Wataru were extremely surprised to be handed a rather rattled Edogawa Conan to look after.

"Conan-kun?" Miwako asked softly, her eyes widening in surprise as he flinched violently when she attempted to lay a hand on his arm.

"Don't… just leave us alone," the child murmured, eyes shut tightly. " **Please** , just leave us alone," Conan implored.

"Conan-kun, who's 'us'?" Wataru asked. "Do you mean your friends?"

"The other police officers?" Satou added. "Who?"

_Water? He wondered before hearing a scream. Warm liquid – copperirontang, there was so_ much _, and Ran was screaming – splashed everywhere, and as they came out of the tunnel, there were more screams and the_ people _– Who? Who? Who could have done this? Why are people so cruel to one another? – Tears and blood and it was all too much, far far too much –_

"STOP IT!" he shrieked, anger first and foremost as deep blue eyes that had seen more than they should have snapped open, glaring. He shrugged off Satou's hand that had settled on his left forearm, his change in demeanor preventing the reflexive reaction of before. "It's bad enough with all this blood, but none of you know how to help Conan, so stop trying! You're just making it worse for him!"

Miwako and Wataru exchanged extremely worried glances. There was something very wrong here…

* * *

Kuroba Kaito nearly choked when he saw the headline:  _Heist Turns to Horror Film_ _._

What. The. Hell.

When Aoko called him at two in the morning ranting about how KID was a lowlife he'd just tuned her out because hello he'd been sleeping after practicing some new, rather vigorous, tricks in the Kaitou Cave (which was a totally cool name for it no matter what Jii said) and was totally bushed.

It was only when she had started saying something about blood and arms that he took notice, her choked voice penetrating the fog of sleep that still clung to him. Her dad had just come home, jaw set in a grim way, when Aoko had been up getting a drink of water and came across the preliminary report he'd started that had been left on the table while he was changing out of his work clothes.

Kaito gritted his teeth as he glared at the newspaper, knuckles white from where he gripped it because how had any of this been allowed to print, seriously, and so soon too??

The magician was still reeling from shock when Hakuba entered the classroom. Noting the way his suspicious classmate looked rather pale, dexterous fingers clutching the newspaper in an unusual manner, the British detective narrowed his eyes before storming over.

"Kuroba."

The dark-haired teen turned, inwardly panicking at the sight of one of his most persistent critics. "Hakuba."  _Oh no, my voice did_ not _just waver! Poker Face, Poker Face!_

"Could I please… talk with you?" Hakuba asked softly, now intruding on the magician's personal space in such a way that many of their female classmates who were fangirls of the yaoi persuasion were now drooling, cell phone cameras held at the ready should an opportune situation present itself.

"You already are," Kaito snarked.

" **Alone** ," the Brit growled, gripping the other's arm tightly. One of the more excitable fangirls passed out, blood pooling on the floor as it dripped from her nose.

"Okay, okay," the brunette agreed, slightly wincing.  **Geez** , did Hakuba ever have a grip!

"What the hell are you playing at?" Saguru hissed, pushing Kuroba against the wall of the stairwell that connected the teachers' lounge to the second floor classrooms.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Kuroba squirmed out of his classmate's grasp. "Look, I know you think I'm KID, but you've got to believe me when I say that I had  **nothing**  to do with this!"

Pleading indigo met seething amber as each teen attempted to convey his thoughts through his eyes.

"Hakuba. We've been classmates for over a year now; you've watched me almost obsessively during that time – Don't give me that look, you know it's true!" Saguru scowled at his companion. "Use that logic obsessed mind of yours and  **think**  – Would the Kuroba Kaito you know do something like chop up a person so that they're unidentifiable and then use their blood to  **shower**  on people?" The magician's voice descended into a harsh whisper by the end of his sentence.

Saguru gave him a long, searching look. "No," he said at last. "He wouldn't." A suspicious gleam entered his eyes. "Just how do you know that, about the body?"

Kaito sighed. "Aoko. Her idiot of a father left his preliminary report out where she could find it – she called me up at about two in the morning to rant about KID, and what a low-life criminal he is." He wiped an imaginary tear away melodramatically. "And me being his biggest fan, too!" Hakuba rolled his eyes.

The British teen then leaned back against the wall, eyes closed in thought. After a moment, his eyes opened, and he stood straight, a determination in his eyes that made Kaito wary.

"Truce," Saguru said. "You help me on this case, and I won't try to catch you during this same duration of time."

He ignored Kuroba's vehement protesting as he continued.

"I'm sure you don't want your reputation tarnished, seeing as how KID is a thief who always returns what he steals, and not a killer. You may not know this," the blonde added as he turned towards the stairwell door, "but Edogawa Conan was there that night." Saguru smirked internally as he noticed his companion tensing. "He was  **drenched** , Kuroba. Most of that blood? It was poured on him."

Hakuba opened the door leading out of the stairwell. "I trust you'll think this over."

"Well, well, tantei-san, you're in quite the predicament."

Saguru turned and spotted his classmate, Koizumi Akako, leaning against the wall, elegant fingers splayed on her thin arms, which were crossed lightly against her chest. Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to take those supple-looking breasts and cup them in his-

Saguru shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Why, why did he always succumb to these  **desires**  around her?

"You're quite strong."

He started at how close they were now, mere inches apart.

"I've never had someone fight quite so strongly against me before, aside from Kuroba-kun." The redhead leaned in, taking the young man's chin between her fingers and turning his face to the side. "So that's why," Akako murmured, her eyes wide. Her left hand rose, nearly in slow motion, to cup his other cheek-

"Koizumi, hands  **off**."

Hakuba turned quickly, nearly giving himself whiplash. Kuroba had come out of the stairwell and was  **glowering**  at Koizumi, his indigo depths burning fiercely with an emotion he didn't dare name.

"What, tired of trying to kill me so you decided to go after more interesting prey?" The magician's tone was bitter and jeering, nothing at all like his normal jovial mood.

"Nothing so shallow and petty as that, Kuroba-kun," Akako purred, sashaying up to him, leaving Hakuba to merely stare after her, as those creamy legs tempted him, barely in sight between the hem of her skirt and her socks, yet-

The British detective pinched the bridge of his nose.  _Concentrate, Saguru!_

"I told you to stop." Kuroba was now softly arguing with Koizumi.

"You can't change nature, kaitou-san." The last was practically sneered at him. "It's not unwilling if  **both**  sides are attracted."

"But how-"

"And no, it isn't." She cut off his question before it could even be finished.

"How do I know I can believe you?"

"Would an oath in my blood be believable enough?"

Kuroba looked taken aback a moment, and not the least bit ill (much to Saguru's envy), looking between his critic and the witch before saying, "I'll be watching," to Koizumi, then started to head back to the classroom just as the warning bell for class rang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title Translation: Blood and Suspicions
> 
> Bwa ha ha, I has Kaito in here now! ^.^ And some AkaSagu action! x3 Yes, that will be one of the pairings, and probably one of the only het ones. This story is going to be a mix between action/adventure, horror, romance, and supernatural, I suppose. Though the only supernaturalness will be Akako. Hooray for plot twists and mysteries!
> 
> Make sure to review now, cuz reviews make SG-chan feel loved, and they also make her muses work better ^^
> 
> **Stella: Yup, they sure do! I like to cuddle with some of the more amenable and fluffy plunnies =^_^=**
> 
> **Yami no SG-chan: While I enjoy killing people off *evil grin***
> 
> Uh, yeah -_-;; Just ignore my Yami; she's a bit insane.
> 
> Edit (10/14/15): SeleneMoon pointed out a continuity error in Kaito reacting in surprise upon reading the newspaper but then displaying foreknowledge of it when talking to Hakuba about Aoko calling him at two in the morning. This continuity error has been reworked, so if you've read this chapter before and notice it's different now, that's why.


	3. Chapter 2: Bedside Mos

"Has he talked at all yet?" Suzuki Sonoko inquired. Though many saw her as just a ditzy rich girl, when it came to important things, like her best friend Mouri Ran, she was one you could count on in a pinch.

"No," Ran shook her head sadly, her grip on Conan's hand tightening. "He looks so small…," the brunette whispered as she looked at her younger brother figure lying so still on the hospital bed.  _Is this what everyone felt like when I lost my memory?_  She thought, shivering slightly as she recalled Kyousuke-sensei chasing her and Conan-kun through Tropical Land.

As Sonoko leaned over to give her a comforting hug, Ran decided that she would do all in her power to help Conan through whatever happened. After all, the boy was practically her little brother, and discounting her silly suspicions about he and Shinichi somehow being the same person, she cared about him quite a bit.

Meanwhile, another girl was thinking about the same person, but in different context.

Haibara Ai was quite worried about the situation her fellow height-challenged companion found himself him.  _You had better pull through this, Kudo,_  she thought as she tried to ignore the questions about Conan's whereabouts from the other children.  _Or else I'll find some way to revive the dead just so I can kill you myself._

* * *

"Whaddya mean he's in the hospital?" Hattori Heiji nearly shouted into the phone.

"Shhh! You'll wake him!" Ran scolded. "Conan-kun's trying to rest, and you are not helping him any by shouting! Put Kazuha-chan back on the phone!"

"Ahou!" Toyama Kazuha chided her friend as he thrust the cell phone back at her.

"Ahou yerself!" the Osakan boy retorted. Kazuha rolled her eyes, and then proceeded to ignore Heiji as she continued the conversation she and Ran had been having.

 _What the hell are ya doin' in the hospital, Kudo?_  Heiji thought frustrated.  _I mean, it's not like anybody at the heist got_ hurt _!_

Though he had to admit, even hearing secondhand about the events made his stomach slightly queasy.  _That's it_ , he decided.  _I'm goin' ta Beika ta check up on him. Damn Kudo, ya can't hardly go three days without runnin' inta trouble, can ya?_

With a goodbye to Kazuha that was barely registered by the girl, the Detective of the West got on his motorcycle and went home to start packing for his excursion. Of course, he didn't predict a road block in the form of his mother.

"And just where do you think  **you're** going?" Hattori Shizuka inquired. She was standing in the doorway of her son's bedroom as he rifled through his closet.

"Beika," Heiji replied absent-mindedly as he found his Doyle vs. Queen shirt.  _Nothing like a good debate on whose idol's better to snap Kudo outta a funk._

"How long are you going to be gone?"

"Day, maybe two. I gotta visit Ku-nan, make sure he's all right," Hattori replied, folding his clothing with surprising care before placing it in his duffel bag.

"Your father's birthday is tomorrow." The tone of his mother's voice was nearly ice cold.

"He'll be fine without me," Heiji dismissed. "Always has."

"You are going to stay home for your father's birthday," Shizuka insisted.

Heiji ignored her, instead concentrating pointedly on snagging his two favorite Ellery Queen novels, as well as his translated copy of  _Artemis Fowl_. For some reason, the protagonist reminded him heavily of Kudo. He glared as Shizuka deftly snatched the books away.

"You are not going anywhere," the woman sternly laid down the law.

"Okan, my best friend is in the hospital. I'm  **worried** about him." The detective spoke slowly, as if he was communicating with a stupid person. More likely it was the rage bubbling inside of him as his mother glared right on back.

"Heiji, we've talked over this before; you can't just drive down to Tokyo at the drop of a hat! Your school attendance is bad enough-"

Heiji exploded. "An' I do well enough in school! I get in all the work that I've missed, I get perfects on nearly all m' tests - hell, I'm technically old enough ta live on m' own!"

Shizuka flinched a bit at this last statement, acting as though she'd been slapped.

Her son took this opportunity to take his books back and quickly stuff them in his duffel bag. "I'll call once I check on Conan," he said as he attempted to weave around his mother, who still stood in the doorway.

"I forbid you to go!" Shizuka grabbed his wrist with a strength that belied her slight stature.

"Okan, let go. I'm old enough t' make my own decisions, and I'm goin' ta go check up on Conan!" With that last retort, Heiji wrenched his wrist free and stomped down the stairs, leaving his mother behind with unshed tears brimming in her eyes.

* * *

"Heiji-kun! You didn't have to come." Ran was somewhat surprised to see the Osakan show up at the hospital not even five hours after their short conversation - if you could call it a conversation.

"Course I did! Gotta make sure Ku-nan is doin' okay, don't I? How is the gaki?"

"He's been pretending to be asleep, I don't think he wants to bother me." Ran quickly wiped away what may have been a leftover tear. "He always has to do things by himself, even though I- I  **tell**  him that- that-"

"S'okay, neechan," Heiji soothed the now openly crying girl. He felt slightly uncomfortable, since this was Kudo - his best bud's! - girl in his arms. Never mind they weren't technically dating or anything, the two had been dancing each other long enough that that was all he knew. "Here, you stop cryin' neechan. I'll go in an' watch the kid, okay?"

"Arigatou Heiji-kun." Ran smiled wanly at the young man before she left down the hospital corridor -  _maybe to the bathroom_ , Heiji thought, if he judged girls how he judged Kazuha's moods.

He opened the door quietly, just in case Kudo was actually sleeping, although he kind of doubted it. Unless the shrunken teen was feeling completely safe or extremely exhausted, he woke at the slightest sound, paranoia at its highest.

"Oi, Kudo." The Osakan sat down in the chair next to the bed - probably where Ran had been sitting previously.

"Hattori." Kudo was awake, though facing away from him.

"Kudo, what's goin' on?" All I heard was that you were hospitalized, but not why. Even neechan wouldn't say. What the hell happened at that heist?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Hattori," Kudo replied, curling in further on himself, as though he could see the way his fellow detective's stare was focused utterly on him.

"Oh no, yer not gettin' outta it that easy, Kudo. What's wrong with you? Neechan said you didn't want to 'bother' her - bother her with what?" Heiji knew he'd struck a nerve as he saw the sudden tense in the other boy's shoulders. "Kudo, I wanna help - hell, I basically brushed off m' okan threatening me ta get here ta see ya, and I ain't leaving till I got an answer!"

"I couldn't have said it better myself," a new and somewhat familiar voice said. "Well, I probably could, but that's getting into details."

Heiji and Shinichi turned in the direction of that disturbingly familiar-sounding person.

"What th' hell are ya doin' here KID?" Heiji growled at the white-clad thief who was standing in front of the window.

"It wasn't his fault, Hattori." Shinichi spoke as he propped himself up in the uncomfortable hospital bed -  _more like a cot_ , the shrunken teen grumbled.

"Huh? B-but it was a KID heist!" the Osakan protested. "Why wouldn't it be his fault?"

"Because, tantei-han, I was set up," the frustratingly unbothered thief replied. "You can ask Hakuba if you don't believe me, I've...  **convinced**  him of my innocence."

"Then wha-"

The door suddenly opened as Ran came back in. "Hattori-kun?" she asked. "Why are you standing there in the middle of the room like that?"

Heiji turned toward the window and stopped in surprise. The thief was gone, and the previously opened window was now closed. "Son of a..." he muttered, low enough that the girl couldn't hear him.

"Conan-kun!" Ran took her attention off of Heiji as she realized her charge was awake. "How are you doing?"

"I'm feeling a bit better Ran-neechan," the boy smiled faintly.

"If Hattori-kun is bothering you, I'll throw him out, okay?"

"Oi, I only got here a minute ago!" Heiji protested.

"It's all right Ran-neechan, Heiji-niisan isn't **that** troublesome." Shinichi chuckled, somewhat amused at his friend's over-protectiveness.

"Do you need me to get anything for you?" Ran asked worriedly, as though she were afraid that Conan might lapse into unconsciousness at any moment.

"Actually, I am feeling a bit hungry," he confessed. "But you don't have-"

"I'll ask the doctor what he thinks is proper for you to eat." Ran smiled warmly as she placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Getting some action, ne?" Heiji elbowed his friend teasingly once the girl was gone.

"Hattori,  **please** shut up," Shinichi sighed exasperatedly. "Oi, you can come out from under there now," the shrunken teen added as he kicked at his bed.

"Do you know how stuffy it is under there?" KID complained as he stretched out any kinks he may have had as he stood, his hat still immaculately in place.

"I'm not even goin' ta ask," Hattori shook his head. "Though it explains how and why ya disappeared so fast."

"You believe me then?" The thief seemed surprised, and a little suspicious.

"Well, Kudo's the one who's got the most issues with ya, and if he doesn't blame ya, then I guess I can let some suspicion go." KID and Shinichi both blinked.

"That was almost...  **gracious**  of you, tantei-han," KID said with some amusement.

"Shut up," the Osakan retorted. "If yer gonna leave, then ya better do it before neechan comes back."

KID gave the detectives a thank-you smirk. "By the way, did you know Mouri-chan wears nylons?" he asked before disappearing out the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title Translation: Bedside Manners
> 
> Okay, I believe some explanations are going to be needed here so not everyone asks me the same question in a review (which you guys should do, btw. Review, I mean, not all ask the same question).
> 
> 1\. Heiji's home life  
> OK, so, concerning Heiji's home life, I am making a lot of stuff up and drawing from conjecture here. One of the things is, we almost never see Heiji's parents. From what we have seen, his mom is very protective of him, going so far as to go undercover to investigate Kogoro after Heiji gets shot during the Osaka special. I myself have only seen Heiji and his dad interact in one or two episodes, and this mainly stuck with me because his dad hit him. Yes, I know that was explained off later, but the point is that I see his dad as a very strict man, who may want the best for his son/family, but he may not go about it in the right way. Plus, about the only dysfunctional family situation we see among the DCMK main cast is Ran's (her parents' divorce) and even that isn't that bad.
> 
> 2\. Heiji's age  
> I don't know why, but I imagine Shinichi as being the youngest of them all (probably because he's shrunk x3), with Hakuba being a year older than everyone else, and Heiji having an early fall birthday that managed to disqualify him for being in the same school year as Hakuba, so Heiji's in the same grade as Kaito and Shinichi (my reckoning for Schismatic does not carry into ABR, though. Funny, huh?). As to why he calls Ran 'neechan', well, I've seen him do this in some other fics, and he doesn't really address her much in the series (and vice versa), plus I find it endearing ^^
> 
> So, explanations over, and I hope you all like this chapter!


	4. Chapter 3: Bellus Interrogationes

Hakuba held back an irritated sigh. "I know you're there, Kuroba."

"You know tantei-san, you really should get this obsession with your classmate fixed; if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were stalking him or something." KID emerged from the shadows of his rival's room.

"I'm not going to ask how you got past the security system. As for my 'obsession' with Kuroba, it's because I know you're KID; I just have to gather solid proof."

"Not now though?" the thief asked.

"No, not now," Hakuba agreed. "Until whoever was responsible for faking that heist is caught, we have a common enemy."

"As well as common allies." KID smirked slightly at the confused look the detective sent him. "I visited tantei-kun earlier. Did you know that he doesn't blame me for what happened? Says that he knows I was set up. He even managed to convince tantei-han."

Saguru groaned. "He's here?"

"'Fraid so," KID replied, not sounding the least bit conciliatory.

"Bastard," the Brit growled as he stripped off his gloves.

"Whatcha doing?" KID came out of his shadowy perch to look over Saguru's shoulder at whatever he'd been working on at the desk.

"Going over various reports of the crime scene," Saguru replied. "To see if anyone noticed any discrepancies, or if anyone's report seems out of place."

"To determine whether the criminal might have had an accomplice either disguised as police, or someone who was police," KID reasoned.

"So far nothing. There haven't been able to ID the body yet either."

"Can't really blame them. Not many people would want to find out if their missing loved one had possibly been chopped up into tiny bits and their blood used for decorating purposes. And before you ask, that leak? Not me."

"No, you're not one who would want to upset the populace like that," Saguru admitted. "In other ways, yes, but to frighten? No." A thought occurred to the British detective. "By the way, what was up with you and Koizumi-san earlier?"

"Koizumi? I know a Koizumi Itsuki, but I had no idea you knew him too, tantei-san," KID mused.

"Plausible deniability," Saguru huffed as he rolled his eyes. "Okay, two can play at that game. A hypothetical situation." He watched as one of KID's eyebrows rose. "Kuroba and a classmate of mine, Koizumi Akako-san, were arguing." He paused as he thought how to word this next part while KID made a 'go on' motion. "Kuroba accused Koizumi-san, saying, and I quote, 'Tired of trying to kill me and decided to go after more interesting prey?' Needless to say, when one of my classmates, specifically one I suspect of being involved in certain extracurricular activities, accuses another of my classmates of trying to kill him, well, you can see my cause for concern."

"Hmm, that is quite a conundrum," KID mused as he lay back slightly against the wall. "You're sure he was talking in the literal sense of killing? He didn't mean that maybe she had tried to kill his reputation, or perhaps his chances at something?"

"From the way they were talking, it seemed most likely he was speaking in the literal sense."

"Interesting. What's your impression of the ojou-san?" KID inquired.

"Well, Koizumi-san is one of the most popular people in our class. She's not one of those very shallow people, but she isn't a quiet person either."

"Aww, it sounds like tantei-san has a crush~" KID teased. The death glare Hakuba sent didn't seem to faze him in the least.

"I don't have a  **crush**  on her," the blonde growled, leaving out the details he'd been noticing about her lately.

"Me thinks the tantei doth protest too much," KID chuckled.

"If we're talking about crushes, it almost seems like  **you**  have on Edogawa-kun, with all the attention you pay to him," Saguru challenged. He was surprised when KID genuinely laughed at this.

"Ah, tantei-san, you do know how to give me a good laugh. Tantei-kun is quite the interesting person, but it's his  **mind**  I'm interested in, his ability to give me a thrill each time he comes close to catching me. Besides, with all the murders he runs into, I think he appreciates being able to use his intellect in different, less morbid ways."

Hakuba fought the urge to gape. This was the most the thief had ever spoken to him at one time that wasn't derogatory or an attempt to stall. Plus the fact that KID did this (partly) to give the child a  **break**  from all the murders he ran into- Wait a minute.

"What do you mean, 'all the murders'?" he questioned suspiciously.

KID blinked in surprise. "You haven't noticed that each time you meet him, outside one of my heists, it's at a death of some kind?"

"I've only met him twice," Saguru retorted as he suddenly realized that when he usually heard about Mouri-tantei's cases, Edogawa-kun was present. Add to this fact that when he'd met the boy at the Tantei-Koshien, he'd been accompanying the Osakan, who also ran into many murders (according to his sources), and the two seemed to be friends… "Holy shit," the British teen muttered weakly as he sat further back in his chair. "How is he still  **sane**?"

 _Or maybe he isn't,_  Saguru realized suddenly as he recalled the events at the heist.

"He seems sane enough," KID reasoned, drawing Saguru's attention once again. "At least when I talked to him he did. I must say, tantei-han displayed an amazing amount of maturity when he accepted tantei-kun's word that I had nothing to do with what happened.

Well, it was nice to know he wasn't the only one who found the Osakan to be brash and immature, Saguru pondered.

"Tantei-kun's a very special person to be able to do that," the thief continued his thinking aloud. "Without him, a lot of people would be in trouble."

Saguru blinked rapidly as he tried to take in all the thief was saying. "He's a child," he found himself protesting. "A precocious, unusually intelligent child, but a child nonetheless!"

"Tantei-kun looks like a child, but above all else he's a special person," KID counteracted. "There are a few things only he can – only he  **will**  do."

The ominousness of that statement made Saguru swallow heavily. "J-just who  **is**  Edogawa-kun?"

A deceptively simple smile graced KID's face. "Tantei-kun is tantei-kun." He tipped his hat. "Adieu, Hakuba-kun."

The lights went out, plunging the room into darkness. When they came back on the thief was gone, and Saguru couldn't bring it upon himself to be angry about it.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but we need to get in to speak with Conan-kun!"

Shinichi perked up from his faked slumber at the sound of Satou-keiji's voice. "It's all right Kasumi-neesan," he said to the nurse who'd almost immediately taken to mothering him. "Satou-keiji knows not to bother me too much."

Kasumi reluctantly let the policewoman, followed closely by Takagi, in the room. "If they start to bother you, you just ring, all right Conan-kun?" Kasumi fixed him with a motherly glare.

"I will, Kasumi-neesan," the boy nodded. He'd heard snippets from the other nurses on how she was the best oat calming even the rowdiest of patients, so he didn't want to get on her bad side, angel she might look.

"Hello, Conan-kun," Miwako greeted the boy as she came in, followed by Takagi and shadowed by Kasumi, who hung around in the doorway. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, Satou-keiji. Ran-neechan and Heiji-niichan came to visit me earlier. Heiji-niichan would've stayed longer, but Ran-neechan said he needed to see the sun."

Takagi felt very out of place as Satou-san and Conan-kun shared a laugh.

"From my interactions with Hattori-kun, that certainly sounds like him." The woman chuckled again before she turned serious. "You know the reason I'm here, right?" The officer couldn't hold back a slight shudder as he saw those blue eyes turn calculating, and much, much too cold for a child. "Is there anything else you can tell us? Something else you might have remembered?"

The boy closed his eyes for what seemed a lifetime but was only a moment before he opened his eyes and slowly shook his head, saying quietly: "No. Nothing else."

The expression on Satou's face was almost one of relief as she closed her notebook. "I'm sorry to have bothered you again Conan-kun," Miwako apologized softly.

"Take care Satou-keiji, Takagi-keiji," Conan replied with a strained smile as the two police officers stood to leave.

"Oyasumi," Miwako said as she and Wataru exited under Kasumi's watchful glare.

"He wasn't telling the truth." It was a statement, not a question.

"You caught that too?" Satou glanced at her colleague. "Do you think he means to solve this on his own?"

"No," Wataru shook his head. "The way he acted... it was more like he didn't  **want**  anybody to know, as if it was private."

"Maybe he  **knows**  whoever did this to him?" Miwako seemed a tad horrified at her own suggestion.

"No, he'd have at least given us an underhanded clue if that were the case," Wataru reasoned. "I suppose he'll tell us when he's ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must say, I certainly like writing Kaito and Saguru's banter x3 'Tis quite amusing. Also, anyone who can guess where Kasumi is from gets cookies! ^_^ Oh, and remember to review please! ^_^
> 
> Chapter title translation: Friendly Interrogations


	5. Chapter 4: Iudicia Perierunt

"Poor dear," Kasumi murmured to herself as she shut the door to the room of a sleeping Conan. "Such a stressful day for the poor boy," she said as she walked down the hall to drop off the charts from the boy's room. The nurse gave a small gasp of surprise as she turned the corner and promptly ran into another person. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" the young woman apologized. The man didn't bother to say anything back and simply hurried past her.

"Excuse me sir, visiting hours are over," she called after him. "Sir?  **Sir**!"

Said 'poor boy' was currently unable to find that final push needed to push him into Mr. Sandman's embrace.

Shinichi just couldn't sleep.

Call it unnecessary paranoia, but the hairs on his arms were standing up, and every fiber of his being was screaming at him to find a place with less access to his person. Really, the last time he'd felt like this was with Haibara, when she pulled that fake gun on him - told him she was doing him a  **favor**  by killing him first - in order to convince him to trick Ran, to lie to her  **again**  when all he really wanted to do was tell her so that he could have a place to just relax and be  ** _himself_** -

With a slight whimper the boy turned onto his side, eyes clenched tight. A moment later his eyes went wide as he heard the door creak open. His small figure tensed.

"Psst," a voice hissed. "Kudo!" Conan whipped around, now facing a quite proud-looking Heiji. "Hey, how ya do-" The Osakan was cut off as the boy flung himself at him and hugged him tight. "-ing," Heiji wheezed. "Ya sure were pleased ta see me, aren'tcha?"

"It was scary here, too scary," Conan whispered, muffled by Heiji's jacket.

"Okaaay," the taller replied slowly. "Listen, yer nurse let me in fer a bit - was able ta play the 'big brother needs ta make sure his li'l bro's all right' card. She isn't here right now though, so ya don't have ta put on the little kid act Kudo."

"But Shinichi-niichan's sleeping!" Conan protested. "He doesn't want to be disturbed!"

"Kudo, stop it," Heiji ordered exasperatedly. "Tofu-san's not here-"

"I know that!" Conan scowled. "You can't talk to Shinichi-niichan, he told me he had to sleep!"

"Dammit Kudo, stop playing around-"

" **I'M CONAN**!"

The quasi-shout left the room eerily silent as the two's minds scrambled to regain themselves, Conan from his outburst, Hattori from what he'd just heard.

"Ku-Conan?"

"I'm just as important as him, right?" Conan asked, dark bangs shadowing his face, and Heiji was struck by how small and utterly fragile his best friend looked right then. "Even if it's really  **him**  who solves the cases, it's  **me**  who helps him to be able to do that, right? You care about me too, right Heiji-niichan?" Conan looked up, smile crooked and not altogether there, while his wide blue eyes were desperately trying to hold back tears.

"Yeah, yeah," Heiji rasped, a strong wave of emotion -  _sorrowunderstandingaffection_  - sweeping over him. The Osakan gathered Conan in a tight hug, holding him as if the boy might disappear at any given moment. "'course I care about ya. I care about ya both, you  **an'** Kudo, Conan."

"Thank you," Conan whispered, feeling lighter than air at someone acknowledging him along with Shinichi. "It's a secret though," he added hurriedly. "Shinichi-niichan - no one can know about him."

"No, no one'll hear 'bout him from me," Heiji choked out, threatened by tears himself as his best friend's dilemma started to fully sink in on him.

* * *

"I'll get it okaa-san!" Kaito yelled as he heard the phone ring. "Hello, Kuroba residence," he answered.

"Kuroba."

"Hakuba?"

"Could you please meet me over at Koizumi-san's house?"

"What?" Kaito almost yelled. "Hakuba, what the hell are you doing over there?" he hissed. "Don't tell me you're already there - already inside -  **shit**!" Kaito paced the length of his room, a pensive expression on his face. "Listen Hakuba, if you're already there, don't accept anything to eat and whatever happens, and don't look her in the eye!"

"Kuroba, what are you-"

"I'm dead serious Hakuba! Knock yourself unconscious if you have to, just don't look in her eyes!"

"Dammit Kuroba-"

"Don't' ask me how I know or what I know cause you wouldn't believe me-"

"Kuroba, I'm not at Koizumi-san's house right now. I am, in fact, about a block away from your house." An awkward silence ensued.

"Oh," Kaito commented. "Uh, about a block away you say?"

"Yes," was the terse reply.

"I'll be right back." Kaito set the phone down, ignoring the protests on the other side, and quickly ran downstairs to the kitchen. "Okaa-san," the teen panted.

"Hmm?" Chikage wondered what had gotten into her son.

"Hakuba - coming over - don't - tell him anything!"

"Am I allowed to embarrass you?" the former Phantom Lady raised an eyebrow.

"No," Kaito replied before dashing back upstairs. "Hey Hakuba, just had to warn my mom we might have someone else for dinner," the magician cut into whatever rant Hakuba had going.

"I'm not staying for  **dinner**  Kuroba," the British teen sighed. "I'm picking you up and bringing you over to Koizumi-san's."

"You're going to have to knock me out first."

"You  **really**  don't trust her, do you?"

"If someone tries to kill you, you tend not to trust them very much," Kaito shot back.

"You were serious about that?" Hakuba sounded incredulous.

"Deadly," Kaito deadpanned. "The most polite you have or will ever see me be to her is during school, in front of Aoko and the teachers. We do not get along very well."

"Would it be rude of me to inquire as to why she… tried to kill you?" Hakuba sounded slightly worried and not a small bit skeptical.

"You're just a block or so from my house, right?"

"Just two houses down now actually."

"How about you come in and tell me why the hell you wanna talk with me and Koizumi anyway; then we'll talk about her past obsession with me," Kaito offered.

"I'm not going to get an answer otherwise, am I?" Hakuba sighed, and from the slight whistle in his breath, Kaito could tell he was pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Nope!" the magician chirped in affirmation. "You sure learn fast Haku-chan!"

"Don't call me that. Please," the British teen not-quite pleaded.

"Maybe if you stop accusing me of being KID so much. Maybe," Kaito added as an afterthought. "I'll be down to show you up." Without waiting for an answer he hung up and headed downstairs.

There were no words exchanged, just brief nods as they settled comfortably - or at least not hostilely - in the dark-haired teen's room.

"So." Kaito twiddled his thumbs. "Why were you heading to Koizumi's?"

"I wanted the get the air between us cleared," Saguru replied, folding his hands together. "I want answers; about what you two were talking about, why whoever faked that heist targeted Edogawa-kun - or if it was maybe a coincidence."

"Detective stuff," Kaito waved a hand.

"Yes, 'detective stuff'," Saguru agreed.

"Not 'defective' stuff." Kaito grinned at the glare sent his way. "I do have to agree though, some understanding needs to be reached between the three of us," he admitted. "Not at Koizumi's though. There is no way I'm going back there."

"Would you rather I go there, reach an understanding with Koizumi-san, then come back and tell you all about it?" Saguru raised an eyebrow, his question half in jest.

Kaito leaned back, conflicting desires clashing within him. While Hakuba wasn't really his  **friend** , he didn't want him falling into  **her**  clutches… "Fine," the magician glared. "I'll go with you. But only once I have some protection. I know I've got some holy water around here somewhere," he muttered to himself.

* * *

"This is so stupid - why did I come? Kami-sama above, what am I  **doing**? Being an idiot, that's what-"

Saguru rolled his eyes at Kuroba's quiet, almost indistinguishable muttering, though inwardly he was worried.

What on earth was it about Koizumi-san that made Kuroba so fearful? He knew for a fact that the magician wasn't religious, or at the least agnostic, yet he'd donned a crucifix - iron-gray in color - round his neck and tucked a flask of holy water in one of his many pockets. And while in the kitchen saying goodbye to his mother, Kuroba slipped a couple garlic cloves in yet another pocket.

 _Is Koizumi-san some kind of vampire?_  Even Saguru's thoughts sounded skeptical. Though, that might explain some things, like how his eyes always seemed to find the subtle curves of her body, even under the bulky school uniform, so enticing. Her hips looked just about the right distance for him to grip tightly - not enough to bruise, of course - as he thrust into her-

"Hakuba, are you okay?" Kuroba was looking at him strangely.

 _Probably because my face feels like it's on fire right now,_  the blond thought, cursing his mutinous body. His hormones cursed him right back, telling him:  _Deal with it bitch!_

"A-ah, I'm just fine," Saguru stuttered, hoping Kuroba wouldn't notice his sudden little…  **problem**.

"Having second thoughts? Decided not to visit the she-devil?"

Saguru snorted at the hopeful tone in the brunette's voice. "No, Kuroba, we're still going to Koizumi-san's."

"Dammit," Kuroba muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title translation: Split Decisions
> 
> Most of this was written during my math/physics classes XDXDXDXD I write angst during math, I write humor during math, I write porn during math... is it any wonder SG-chan wants to become an actuary to supplement her book writing? xD Also, I nearly made myself cry while I wrote that Heiji and Conan/Shinichi scene. No joke. ;_;
> 
> Okey, a few notes on Kaito's 'lucky charms'/rants:
> 
> The bit about not looking into Akako's eyes is because hypnosis is generally believed to mainly involve the eyes - especially when it comes to supernatural beings/creatures. Not accepting food is SG-chan's own British Isles heiritage coming into play x3 (seriously, SG-chan is English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish, not to mention the shitload of Scandinavian in her - Hetalianess FTW! 8D) Supposedly if you accept/eat food while in the faery realm you are trapped there forever. See, Kaito does kinda care about Haku-chan! x3 The cross is made of (mostly) iron, as iron is supposed to be able to block/subdue magic. Holy water is a deterrent against pretty much all evil (except schoolwork and preps), it's just that it's been made most popular by vampires. The garlic was thrown in for shits and giggles, and also because one can't be too careful, now can they? ^J^
> 
> Welp, don't forget to review, ya hear?


	6. Chapter 5: Mercurius Pugnam

Saguru had barely rang the doorbell when a hunched, barely recognizable as human, being opened the door.

"Mistress Koizumi is expecting you," the hunchback said. "Come in."

Kaito made sure to keep Hakuba between him and the creepy butler, who showed far too many teeth in his grins to look comfortable at all.

"Hello Kuroba-kun, Hakuba-kun." The tone in which their classmate greeted them sent shivers up both boy's' spines, though for different reasons. Quite honestly, just being in Akako's presence was a pleasurable hell for Saguru. For Kaito…

"Stop putting him under you spell majou-san."

Ah, always so blunt and to the point, was he? Akako pouted. "Now now, Kuroba-kun, you can hardly blame  **me**  for Hakuba-kun's inattention – it's not my fault he clearly has good taste in women."

"Leave Aoko out of this," Kuroba hissed.

"I didn't say anything about Nakamori-chan," the redhead retorted. "And as for Hakuba-kun, he really has too strong and logical a mind to submit to me. Haven't you?" Akako leveled a sultry stare at the blond.

Saguru blinked owlishly. "What were we talking about?"

"Too logical a mind?" Kaito deadpanned as Akako sweatdropped.

"Never mind about that; state your purpose in coming here." She had her commanding tone back now, and Saguru's mind drifted slightly as he thought that she would look quite good in leather. With a whip. Oh, leather…

"Um, yes, this was, er, my idea actually." Saguru managed to dispel the fog around his mind long enough to put together a logical sentence. "I wanted the air among us cleared, as I have a suspicion that, together, you two have information that would be of more use to me than what I know so far."

"And to ogle her, don't forget that," Kaito reminded, getting a blush from Hakuba. "Plus, I'm only here to make sure she doesn't enslave you. I don't have any information you'd find useful for your case."

"Much as I am hurt by Kuroba-kun's accusations, I have to agree with him," Akako said as she leaned back into her chair. "I can't see how anything I know would be helpful for your case."

"Cut the bull."

Akako and Kaito turned from their mini glare-off, surprised by the steel in his tone.

"I frankly don't care what your differences are, or if you don't want to seem as if you're being 'weak' in front of him or her; all I care about right now is getting all possible information I can so I can bring this…  **creep**  to justice."

There was a short silence as the British teen continued to fume and Kaito and Akako attempted to have a silent conversation with their eyes. Or maybe they were attempting to fry each other's brains.

"Should we start before or after she tried to kill me?" Kaito broke the silence.

"I just wanted you to adore and worship me like everyone else," Akako defended herself. "I usually get what I want when I want. I admit I was a bit immature, trying to kill you. In retrospect, I should've just wiped your mind or killed everyone you held dear."

"I knew you were fucked up before, but now I've got the proof," Kaito growled. "You're lucky you didn't try that, you know, because I would've-" He stopped when Akako gave a little chuckle. "What-" He turned to see what she found so amusing. "Goddammit Hakuba, are you  **hard**?"

"It's just a biological response!"

"Dammit Koizumi, stop spraying your lovey-dovey spells around!"

"It's not me; Hakuba-kun finds me strikingly attractive  **without**  me messing with his mind."

"I'll believe that when Nemuri Kogoro becomes competent, asleep or awake!"

"What did you say?" Kuroba's statement stuck in Hakuba's mind like a hot iron in snow.

"I said I'll believe that when Nemuri Kogoro becomes competent," Kaito repeated, looking at Saguru like he was slow in mind.

 _He slipped up,_  Hakuba thought triumphantly. "And just how, Kuroba, would you know whether Mouri-tantei is incompetent? He's solved many cases that would be considered quite difficult, even by me. What exactly makes him so… incompetent?"

"You've seen him on TV and in newspaper articles; the guy's a gloryhound," the magician protested, a slightly worried look in his eye. Akako looked on in amusement. "He's just taking the credit from the police. Sure he's solved a few cases here and there, but it was just luck!"

"For someone who claims to not know anything that I'd find useful, the things you're saying now seem to be pretty relevant to my case in that for someone unconnected to such an important figure, you have information that, by rights, you shouldn't."

"Maybe I've just heard it through the grapevine," Kaito challenged.

"Oh, do stop dancing around." Akako rolled her eyes. "Hakuba-kun, you think that Kuroba-kun is Kaitou KID. Kuroba-kun, who may or may not be Kaitou KID, denies this and hates me. Meanwhile, there is myself, and I for one would like for you to 'clear the air' so that I can get back to my spell. After too long the pickled notebooks tend to rot, and if Yuuko-chan doesn't get her proper penmanship elixir on time she tends to start opening rifts to harsher dimensions." The redhead crossed her arms, tapped her foot, and raised an eyebrow as if to say: "Get on with it!"

"You weren't lying when you said she was a witch," Hakuba whispered hoarsely.

"Of course I wasn't!" Kaito shot back. "I play tricks and pranks on people; I'm not a pathological liar!" He turned to Akako. "Give Hakuba his info before we go."

"Why should I?" Akako tilted her head to the side.

"Cause otherwise he'll keep bothering you - and me, until he gets his info," Kaito deadpanned.

"True," Akako groused. "Fine," she decided with an imperious toss of her head. "Kudo Shinichi. You'll find your case is tied with his life. Now out, before I call Reginald on you."

"But wait, how-"

"We're leaving now. Bye-bye majou-san!" Kaito called as he forcibly dragged Saguru from the room.

"What the hell- why did you do that?" Saguru yanked his arm from the magician's grasp.

"Because that butler dude of hers is creepy as hell, and I'd rather not tangle with him. Besides, when she gets pissed, she gets  **pissed**. Remember that day I was croaking? That was her. She turned me into a frog. I stole a kiss from Aoko to turn back, but it turns out I had to get a  **willing**  kiss to turn me back with no repercussions." Kaito shuddered slightly. "I had a craving for flies all day."

"So wait. You and Nakamori-chan aren't…"  _This is brand new information_ , the blond mused as Kaito plunged into a rant on how if Hakuba thought that this meant Aoko was fair game he was dead wrong, because he'd seen the way he was ogling Akako, and even if part of it was probably spells, you could break Aoko's heart by looking the wrong way, and-

"I get it, and I won't be approaching Nakamori-chan that way," Saguru promised, resisting the urge to stick his fingers in his ears. "Also, did you know that you tend to imitate Haruno-sensei from 3-E when you rant?"

* * *

He was being watched. He could feel Their gazes on the back of his neck, and in the way everything he ate seemed to turn to dust in his mouth. He wouldn't let Them deter him from having his fun, though. In fact, it would be nice – fun, even – to pull out another victim from under Their radar.

Did he say victim? He meant sacrifice.

After all, when it came to causes, things had to be given up in order for the goal to be accomplished. His gaze focused on his newspaper, two days old. Had it really been that long? It seemed like an eternity more, an eternity since he'd seen his savior, the one who'd shown him how commonplace things had been, how rotten an existence he'd been leading before.

His little savior…

He closed his eyes, pulse thrumming as he recalled the splashes of red staining the blue as shrill screams echoed. So lovely, those screams… Not at all like those of the pest's.

He wondered what his savior would say, what words of praise he would be given if he'd learned of the pest's disposal. It had been so exhilarating, to laugh in the supposed killer's face, the tick who meant his savior harm.

The rush as those cold eyes glared up at him, the gnashing of teeth as he carefully made the perfunctory incisions. He wanted this pest to suffer for even daring to  **look**  wrong at his savior, his reason for living.

"It's too late now, too late for you," he'd chided as the light faded from those cold, murderous eyes, the silver hair streaked with beautiful red as he decapitated the pest for better transport.

The cloudy sky was clearing now, and he looked up to the sky, to that blue that was so pale compared to  **him _._**

Perhaps… perhaps soon he would be able to see those beautiful eyes that failed any decent comparison, be able to see them widen in fear, and fill with tears as he realized how corrupt his own world was. Perhaps… just perhaps he would be able to wipe away those tears and keep that small figure safe; safe from Them and the world…

"Worry not little one, Mercury will be your protector," he murmured as he gently set the newspaper, his only current link to his savior, down on the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope I was able to sufficiently creep y'all out ^_^ Also, I have probably mentioned this already, but I love writing Magic Kaito characters' banter. Like, LOVE. Anywho, cookies to those who catch the cameos that have no real impact on this story x3
> 
> Chapter title translation: Mercurial Argument


	7. Chapter 6: Incertos Socii

"They look so cute! Take a picture!"

"No, it might wake them up!"

"Shh, shh!"

Heiji's consciousness seeped back slowly and for a moment he had trouble recalling where he was. "Hmm?" he lightly squeezed the small hand in his own tan one. "Ku-nan, wake up."

"So cute!"

There was the squeezing again. Where was it…? The Osakan's eyes narrowed as he saw a couple of nurses standing in the doorway.

"I'm sorry!" the one on the right whispered. "We were trying not to wake you up!"

"So cute!" was all the other nurse could say.

Heiji took a moment to observe his situation He was sitting in a chair next to Conan's bed, the boy himself curled up close to the edge of the bed where Heiji had been leaning against the bedpost as he slept, the two boys' hands entwined as they slept. The mental image did seem kinda cute, Heiji decided. "Hey, Ku-nan, wake up. I don't wanna deal with these girls by myself."

"G'way, trying to sleep, Haibara."

Heiji sweatdropped. "Do I look anything like that freaky mad scientist chick? Wake up gaki!"

A single blue eye blearily blinked open. "H'tori?" the boy mumbled. "What 'r you d'ing here?"

"I came to visit you, remember?" The Osakan was feeling slightly worried. Had the episode last night triggered something?

"Oh yeah," Conan muttered as he propped himself upright. His hand never left Heiji's. "F'rg't. 'm t'r'd, can't think good r't now." He looked around. "Where's Ran?"

A suspicion wriggled its way into Hattori's mind. "Oi, Ku-nan, what's the last thing you remember? Do you remember me coming in last night at all?"

"Kind of?" Conan asked. "Sorta; 's kinda f'z'y though…"

"Kudo?" Heiji asked in an undertone. From the sudden movement as Conan jerked his head up, blue eyes wide in barely controlled terror, he knew he'd guessed correctly. "'s okay gaki, I gotcha." Heiji made soothing sounds as he held the shrunken teen to his chest. He sent a pointed look (it wasn't a glare, it wasn't!) towards the two nurses, who got 'light bulb' expressions on their faces before they beat a hasty retreat.

"Great distraction," Kudo deadpanned shakily into Heiji's chest.

"Yeah, I'm just full of ideas," Hattori retorted. "I think it's about time you and I had a talk." He knew he'd scored as the small figure in his arms tensed. "How long have you known about Conan?"

"Conan's a mask," was the soft yet monotonic reply. "You know that Hattori."

"Yeah, I know. I also know that last night you were hugging onto me for dear life, practically bawling your eyes out because I only cared about 'Shinichi-niichan' and not about 'Conan'. How is  **that**  just a mask?" The Osakan's tone wasn't accusing like one would've expected, but gentle and sympathetic.

"I-it just is!" Shinichi insisted, his hands balling in the fabric of Heiji's shirt.

"Kudo, I wanna help, and the only way I'm gonna be able to do that is if you open up to me! C'mon, don't shut me out like this!"

"Hattori, it's better if you just leave it alone, leave  **us** alone."

"So you're admitting that-"

"I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"

Shinichi and Heiji turned to see Hakuba Saguru standing in the doorway, a very familiar looking young man skulking behind him…

"Kudo?" Heiji blurted in surprise.  _What – who would have a reason ta-_

"I'm not Kudo Shinichi," the look-alike assured him rather grumpily. "I just look a lot like him."

Now that he looked closer, the Osakan could see that though from a distance the newcomer looked quite similar to Shinichi, his facial structure was angular and more chiseled, his hair was messier, and most of all his eyes were not that shade of intoxicating blue… Heiji pushed down the sudden and inexplicable urge to blush in favor of glaring at the Kudo doppelganger and Hakuba. But mostly Hakuba. "Who is he, why'd ya bring him, and why are you here Hakuba?" He tried not to sound too mean, honest he did!

"I came to speak with Edogawa-kun," Hakuba replied. "Kuroba-kun is here on my request."

"More like you dragged me here," Kuroba muttered. "Kuroba Kaito," he introduced himself. "I have the unfortunate honor of being classmates with this idiot." He jabbed a thumb at Saguru.

"Hattori Heiji," the Osakan replied. "This here's Edogawa Conan."

"You were at the Tantei Koshien, weren't you Hakuba-oniisan?" Shinichi piped in a subdued childish voice. "I'm sorry about Tuesday; I didn't mean to act like that."

"What are you talking about?" Hakuba looked thoroughly confused, and Kaito and Heiji were listening intently for an account of what happened from someone who, so far, hadn't been talking.

"Well, after you tried to calm me down you ran off," Shinichi recalled. "I'm sorry if I hurt you or something." He looked the perfect picture of childish innocence, a slightly rueful expression on his face as he hung his head in a slightly guilty manner.

"It wasn't your fault Edogawa-kun," Saguru assured, the shrunken teen successfully pushing his every button.

Heiji and Kaito could only look on in envy and appreciation, each thinking that if they could manipulate the British detective that easily life would be a lot easier. By chance the duo's eyes met, a spark of understanding passing between them.

"Kuroba-san, right?" Heiji asked.

"Yeah," the brunette nodded.

"Nice ta meetcha." Heiji held out his hand.

Kuroba stared at the Osakan a moment, gauging him, before taking the proffered hand. "Likewise, Hattori-san."

"So you've gotta put up with his Royal Prissiness here?"

"Unfortunately," Kaito sighed melodramatically. "And if you think he's bad now, you should see him at school, accusing me of the most outlandish things!"

"You  **are**  Kaitou KID Kuroba, I just don't have the definite proof yet," Hakuba declared testily.

"This again," the brunette whispered soto voce to Hattori.

"Just because you were present at the same time KID was doesn't mean a thing! It could have been a dummy or an accomplice or something!

"Hakuba, I was handcuffed to you the entire time!" Kuroba groaned. "And FYI, there have been  **multiple**  occasions where KID and I haven't been in the same place, and I have solid alibis!"

"You use the same tricks as he does!"

"KID's a showman, that's the only thing we have in common! I'm a magician because I want to follow my father's path; KID uses magic for fun or whyever he wants to!"

"Okay, hey, both of you calm down!" Hattori stepped between them, arms held out. "You're upsetting Ku-nan!" He darted a glance at the shrunken teen, who quickly turned his expression of calculations to one of 'why are the adults arguing?' "And you," Heiji growled, turning on Hakuba, "are even worse than I originally thought you were!"

"Excuse me?" Saguru crossed his arms defiantly. "At least  **I**  don't contaminate evidence or fraternize with suspects!"

" **Fraternize?**  Okay, you listen here!"

"Oi oi, those two are so troublesome," Kaito shook his head. He sat down on the chair next to Conan's bed. "So how are you doing? Hakuba says you weren't exactly hurt, but something happened. You wanna talk about it?"

The boy scrutinized him a moment. "You do kind of remind me of KID," he said slowly. "But you look like Shinichi-niichan too," he added as Kaito's expression grew exasperated. "Hakuba-oniisan said you do magic; could you show me?"

"Sure!" Kaito grinned as he took out some juggling balls from nowhere. Inwardly he wasn't quite panicking, but… well, he wasn't very calm either. While it wasn't like tantei-kun was interrogating him or anything, he knew that that great intellect wasn't being neglected and was instead being used to scrutinize his movements.

"Ne, Kaito-oniisan?"

"Yeah, bozu?" Kaito stopped his juggling.

"Are you related to a Kuroba Toichi-san?"

"Y-yeah," Kaito stuttered slightly at the unexpected question. "He was my father."

"He was a really good magician; I've seen recordings of his acts!"

"Oh, y-you have?" Kaito forced a broad grin. "He was the best, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, I can see why you'd want to follow in his footsteps." Shinichi smiled sympathetically.

"How about your parents Conan-kun?" Kaito felt perfectly justified in asking this even as his stomach turned a little at the sudden panic in his rival's eyes. How would tantei-kun answer?

"Well, okaa-san is a lawyer in New York," the bespectacled boy stuttered slightly. "She says my otou-san is a dirty, rotten, good-for-nothing son-of-a-"

"Okay, I think that's enough." Kaito cut him off. The panic was gone, replaced by a cheerful mischief. "Do you have any siblings?" he asked.

"No," Conan shook his head. "Okaa-san says that I was an 'accident-child', which doesn't really make sense. How can you have a child by accident?" The innocently inquisitive expression on the boy's face was impressive, he had to admit. But he was having far too much fun at Kaito's expense. "So you're a fan of KID's?"

_Ah, the interrogation._

"I like his magic, how he completely entrances the crowd," Kaito stated slowly. "I'm not such a fan of the stealing, but then again he always returns it, doesn't he?"

"He does," Shinichi murmured to himself.

"Hey, after you're better, how about the next time you go after him, tell him 'hi' for me, okay?"

Shinichi chuckled in mixed amusement and surprise at the other's audacity. "I'll be sure to tell him that when I see him, Kaito-oniisan." The two rivals exchanged knowing grins, each holding the other's cards but knowing not to do anything just yet.

"Oi, ya done?"

Kaito started as he realized Heiji was standing right at his shoulder. "Uh, yeah, if Hakuba's gotten what he needed." He quirked an eyebrow towards the Brit, who looked rather annoyed.

"Just one question. How would I get a hold of Kudo Shinichi?"

"Why would ya need ta do that?" Heiji growled, unconsciously shifting so he was almost directly between Saguru and Conan.

"I received some advice from a source of mine that Kudo Shinichi is tied to this case."

"An' who exactly told ya  **that**  tidbit of info?" Heiji's eyes narrowed to jade slits.

"A source," Saguru reiterated.

"Our classmate's a witch and she says that her crystal ball a.k.a. Lucifer told her," Kaito piped up cheerfully. At the other detectives' incredulous look he assured them, "No joke, she's a witch; she even turned me into a frog once! I got better, obviously."

"Riiight." Heiji eyed them dubiously. "Is that all?"

"For now," Saguru replied. "If you know of a way to get a hold of Kudo-kun, please don't hesitate to tell me. C'mon Kuroba."

"What am I, your lapdog Haku-chan?"

"Stop calling me that!"

"But you react so wonderfully each time! Why must you be so tsundere?"

"I said to shut up!"

"Oi," Hattori spoke quietly once the two's argument was out of hearing range. "I've seen that look before. He  **is**  KID, isn't he?"

"Almost certainly, yes," Shinichi confirmed softly. "We know each other's identity but neither of us says anything. It's out of mutual respect for each other's situations I suppose." A soft smile crossed the shrunken teen's face.

"Does Hakuba fit into you guys' little club?" He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice, he honestly did!

Shinichi laughed, elbowing the Osakan in the arm. "Jealousy doesn't become you Hattori," he teased.

"Yeah, yeah." Hattori brushed him off, a soft blush dusting his cheeks. "I just don't trust him; either of them. I guess the thief's not too bad though, if he's gotta deal with Hakuba all the time." His eyes drifted to the clock on the wall. "I'm gonna go get some coffee. Ya want some?"

"Sure," Shinichi replied.

Heiji pressed a kiss to the boy's forehead unconsciously, then regained his senses and quickly backtracked. "Right. Back in ten," he stuttered slightly before he fled, not noticing the nearly identical blush on Shinichi's face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter translation: Uncertain Allies
> 
> Hee hee, did you all like it? I hope you did! ^^ No cameos this chapter.
> 
> Don't forget to review, as believe it or not, they do actually give SG-chan motivation to write quicker xD


	8. Chapter 7: Contrariis in Probationem

Kaito hummed aimlessly to himself as he waited for the questions he knew would come once Hakuba had sorted through his own musings. He had to admit, he was, dare he say it, amused by how protective Hattori had seemed over Conan. It was like he was his knight in shining armor or something. Kaito snickered at the thought of tantei-kun dressed in a pink princess outfit while a dragon chased tantei-han around.

Meanwhile, a less amusing scene was going through Saguru’s mind. While the Osakan’s behavior had fit what he already knew of him, as well as what he’d observed before, it seemed as though when it came to Edogawa-kun that Hattori was… almost possessive of the boy. Combined with how chummy the two seemed the previous times that Saguru had interacted with them, and an unsavory picture had begun painting itself in the British detective’s mind.

True, Conan was a highly precocious child, and he seemed well into becoming a kokosei-tantei himself in the future, and perhaps Hattori was more childish than he gave him credit for, but… Simply put, their close friendship did not make sense.

It was one thing during the Tantei Koshien when they’d paired the two together (and he had to admit, it was slightly disturbing how well Edogawa-kun had taken the crime scene in, dead body and all), supposedly to give Hattori a handicap. But the scene at the hospital… Saguru had only seen such behavior before in those romance flicks his bayaa liked to watch. He supposed it was possible it was all in his head, just Freudian slips and such wreaking havoc with his mind, and granted, it **was** possible with how much he’d been seeing Koizumi-san lately-

Saguru rubbed his temples at the oncoming headache.

“Careful there Hakuba, you might hurt yourself thinking!” Kuroba chuckled, and Saguru spared him a glare and pursed lips to show what he thought of the magician’s juvenile insult.

“That would be more up your alley Kuroba, or perhaps Hattori’s.”

“Hey now, he didn’t seem like that bad a guy,” Kuroba protested. “Sure he was kind of a dick to you, but you’re a dick to pretty much everybody, so it all evens out in the end!”

Saguru simply stared as Kuroba grinned widely, unable to think of a proper response to that. Finally he settled for, “You boggle me sometimes Kuroba.”

“Good to know I’m succeeding in my quest.” He winked, and Saguru felt the sudden and intense urge to facepalm. Or strangle him. Strangling sounded like a nice option too.

“They’re just… strange,” Saguru huffed. “I mean, there’s nearly a ten year difference in age, yet the two of them seem quite comfortable with each other.”

“So?” Kaito wondered. “Kid that smart, only worthwhile company he’s probably got is Hattori-san.”

“Hmm,” Saguru hummed slightly. “Not KID?”

“I just met Conan-kun; I’m not a Holmes obsessed nerd like you so I’m not automatically going to know what’s going on inside his head,” Kuroba drawled. “Although I’d guess that a kid who chases around a thief like KID has either got serious issues with the justice system or is an adrenaline junkie. What?” he asked at the strange look Hakuba was giving him. “The reason you brought me along was to get my opinion, right? Well, you’ve got it.”

“Yes,” Hakuba muttered softly. “I do…”

The sound of a cell phone buzzing broke the silence between them.

“Ah, lemme get that.” Kaito fished his phone from his pocket. “Moshi moshi? Ahh!” Saguru could clearly hear Aoko shouting at the other end, though he couldn’t make out quite what she was saying. “Stop shouting you idiot!” Kuroba barked. “What? Ah, crap, I forgot. Sorry, sorry, but Hakuba kidnapped me – you know him and his crazy theories. Yeah, I’ll be back soon. Okay, okay. Bye.”

“Nakamori-san?” Saguru questioned rather pointlessly.

“Yeah,” Kuroba grumbled. “We were supposed to work on that project for English today but I forgot in favor of you kidnapping me.”

“My apologies.”

“Yeah, yeah, save ‘em for Aoko,” Kaito chuckled as their bus pulled up at the corner.

* * *

Haibara Ai was on her second cup of coffee of the morning when the phone rang. She set her mug down with an irritated sigh. “Hello,” she answered in a bored tone. “Agasa-hakase’s residence, who is calling?”

“Hey, lil neechan.”

“Hattori-san,” Ai acknowledged, rather surprised. “Why are you calling?” A sudden jolt of terror seized her. “Has something happened to Kudo-kun?”

“…sort of,” Hattori replied. “He’s all right, physically anyway. Listen, has he ever acted… strange around ya?”

“You’re going to have to be **much** more specific,” Ai drawled, relieved that her compatriot hadn’t died during the night.

“Like, has he ever acted like ‘Conan’ when no one else is around? Or acted childish when there wasn’t any reason to?”

“No,” the scientist answered. “At least… I don’t think so. I mean, there have been times where he’s acted very childish when I thought there was no reason, but it usually turned out to be some ploy to get someone to drop their guard or something.” She paused a moment. “Hattori-san, what exactly happened last night?”

“…it’d probably be best if we didn’t talk about this over the phone, or at least not when I’m at the hospital. Besides, I promised Conan I wouldn’t talk about it, so I should probably ask him about talking to you.”

“You promised… Edogawa-kun?” Ai asked. “Hattori-san, what exactly are you talking about?”

The Osakan sighed. “It’s complicated, and I really don’t have all the facts yet, but maybe you could drop by later so we could talk about it. Probably be best to have Kudo’s input anyway.”

Ai sighed, slightly frustrated with the cryptic manner in which the detective was speaking. “All right, I’ll ask the professor if he can drive me to the hospital later.”

“All right,” Hattori agreed. “Try not to let the kids tag along; this isn’t exactly somethin’ they should hear.”

“Isn’t it always?” Ai deadpanned. “Tell Kudo-kun I’ll be by later so he had better not pretend to be asleep to get out of it.”

Hattori chuckled somewhat nervously. “All right, gotcha. See ya later then.”

Ai huffed a little at how quickly the Osakan had hung up on her. “Boys,” she muttered. A pensive expression crossed her face as she turned back to her coffee. What exactly could be wrong with Kudo-kun?

* * *

 Heiji gave a sigh as he hung up. It had taken him a minute to calm down and get his red face under control. Only once his normal thinking faculties had returned had he thought of calling Haibara. After all, she would be the one most likely to have noticed any strange behavior about Kudo lately – or at all, hopefully.

He frowned slightly as he saw he had two messages in his inbox, both from his mother. The Osakan closed his phone. _She’s probably just nagging about Oton. It’s not like he’s ever really home anyway._ Heiji firmly put the thought of his parents out of his head. _Coffee. That’s what I came out here for before I got distracted._

Shinichi looked up from the intense stare down he was having with the bedspread to see Hattori return with two cups of hot coffee.

“Better drink this before the nurses come and threaten ta take it away,” the Osakan advised.

Shinichi rolled his eyes as he accepted the cup. “Yeah. Thanks,” he muttered.

“Oh yeah,” Hattori said after a moment of shared coffee worship. “The little scientist – she’s gonna be droppin’ by this afternoon ta check on ya.”

Shinichi had to work very hard not to spit-take. “Great,” he grumbled after he succeeded in not choking to death. “Well, at least she can’t kill me here. Too many witnesses.”

“Ha ha, good one,” Hattori chuckled. “Oh wait, you were serious.” There was a short, awkward silence. “How long have you been… you know.”

The shrunken detective sighed. “Look, could we just drop the subject please? It’s really not important-“

“Not important?” Hattori spluttered.

“And it’s not like you can help,” Shinichi finished.

“I’d say it’s important,” Hattori almost growled. “Yer my friend, and I wanna at least **try** ta help ya! You’ve already got so many secrets, Kudo; if you take too many more you’re liable to crack under the pressure – if you haven’t already.”

“I’m not crazy,” Shinichi hissed.

“No, you just talk about yerself in the third person more than ya need to. While acting like someone else,” Hattori deadpanned. “It’s not healthy, havin’ all this weight on your shoulders an’ not sharin’ it with anyone. Don’t gimme that look. We’re alike, you an’ I, and while you’ve got Agasa-hakase an’ Haibara-san, they don’t quite understand things the way we do, do they?”

Shinichi pointedly avoided eye contact. “Just because I don’t spill my heart to everyone doesn’t mean-“

“I’m not talking about that!” Hattori exclaimed. He sighed. “Look. I know I’m not the best at this – feelings an’ stuff, you know, but Kudo – you’re my best friend. I want to help you, I want to be there for ya, because that’s what friends do for each other, and even if ya aren’t really sure of what exactly’s goin’ on – you can talk to me.”

Shinichi shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t want help, Hattori, it’s just – My whole life is one lie after another right now, and there are more important things at stake than me.” He smiled wanly at the other teen. “Once this all blows over, maybe-“ He stopped himself mid-sentence. “But not now, Hattori. It’s not the right time. I just can’t.”

Hattori frowned at his refusal to talk about something that clearly needed to be dealt with, but it wasn't like he could force him to talk... "All right. But later, when Haibara-san comes, you're gonna have ta tell her **something**."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title translation: Contradicting Evidence
> 
> Hey, I'm not dead! Ahaha, yeah... Long story short, writer's block, life, and Rise of the Guardians (particularly BlackIce) taking control of my soul. Well, not exactly control, but let's just say that if you like Pitch x Jack, I've got a couple fanfics in the works... 
> 
> Also, I would like to say that all of the detectives need to get a room and not come out until they are debauched/have loosened up because it was so. fucking. hard. to write feelings with these guys i mena aj;lskdjfa;lsdf ARGHHHH
> 
> Okey, got that out of my system. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long for me to write ^^;; Hopefully. 
> 
> Also, if anyone could tell me what Heiji calls Haibara in canon, I would very much appreciate it. I've had him switch between calling her "lil neechan" (cause she's older than them but she's shrunk so yeah) and "Haibara-san" (cause she sure as hell wouldn't let him call her "-chan"), and he doesn't know her **that** well to call her "demon spawn" (Shinichi/Conan's special nickname for her that I use in a lot of my stories), so yeah. If he addresses her in canon some other way, I'd appreciate if someone could fill me in on that.


	9. Chapter 8: Disceptatio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry for the wait! Trying to juggle work with writing is a lot harder than it was with school, since if you don't work you can't earn money which you really really need to be able to live, but if you do work it leaves you mentally and physically exhausted lol
> 
> Anywho, it won't be quite as long before the next chapter x3;;

Seeing as Shinichi wasn't willing to talk any further about his feelings (not that Heiji blamed him. He was having a hard enough time trying to understand this; for Kudo, who  **was**  living it? Yeesh), the two detective struck up a conversation about the latest Sherlock Holmes movie, which quickly turned into a debate.

"I'm just saying, there is a healthy dose of subtext," Heiji said. "Goin' both ways, actually."

"Holmes is devoted to the cases," Shinichi argued. "He has no inclination for relationships of any kind. By the original source material, he's definitely asexual."

"Doesn't mean he wasn't in love with either Watson  **or**  Irene," Heiji insisted. "Asexual doesn't mean uncaring."

The scowl on the Meitantei of the East's adorable face warned up an upcoming rant, but he was interrupted by the door opening.

"Am I interrupting something?" the doctor asked, one eyebrow raised.

"No," Shinichi muttered, though the glare aimed at Hattori promised a follow up later.

"Are you his guardian?" the doctor -  _Furude,_  Heiji read as he snuck a look at his name tag - asked, his immaculate eyebrow going a bit higher.

"Ah, no! I'm just visiting," Heiji protested, hands raised in denial.

"If he were my guardian I'd be in the hospital a lot more," Shinichi deadpanned.

"Oi," Heiji scowled at the chibi's smirk.

"Do you have a number for his actual guardian?" Dr. Furude asked Heiji.

"Yeah, how come?" he asked, taking out his phone and thumbing to his contacts list.

"Well, all of our tests came back good Conan-kun, so you're free to go home!" The doctor smiled saccharinely. "Isn't that great?"

"Un!" Shinichi nodded, smiling widely.

"Sure is," Heiji grinned. He frowned. "Just getting voicemail."

"Leave a message, not like a few more hours will make much of a difference," Shinichi said. "Here, I'll give you occhan's number," he offered to the doctor, who gave him a pen to write on his clipboard.

"I'll have a nurse bring you some fresh clothes," Dr. Furude said.

"You cleaned the ones I... arrived in?"

"Ah, no," Dr. Furude said, suddenly finding his clipboard very interesting indeed. "Mouri-san brought a change for you yesterday. The ones you were wearing when you came in were stained beyond repair."

"I'll have to thank Ran-neechan when I see her next," Shinichi chirped, his voice little kid bright as he tried to defuse the tension.

"Mm, yes," Dr. Furude agreed with a tight smile. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ring for one of the nurses. He nodded to Heiji and left the room.

"I don't remember neechan sayin' she brought ya clothes," Heiji mused.

"She didn't," Shinichi said. "Say anything, that is. She's got a lot on her mind, it probably slipped."

"Probably," Heiji agreed. He leaned back against the chair, looking up at the ceiling. "D'y have any idea who would do somethin' like this?"

"Someone with guts."

"Metaphorically and literally probably, considering the arms and how much blood there was," Heiji thought aloud.

Shinichi snorted. "That was terrible."

"Got a laugh outta ya."

"I did not laugh."

"Close enough!"

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "Well, they would have to be knowledgeable about KID heists, to send a heist note with enough short notice that the press wouldn't get wind of it but Nakamori-keibu would have time to prepare for it, or at least decipher the message. Although, the message wasn't that difficult, which probably should've tipped us off in the first place," Shinichi added with a grimace.

"But is he callin' out KID or is this a message for someone else?" Heiji wondered. "Nakamori-keibu, or maybe Hakuba?"

"It was luck that Hakuba was there at all," Shinichi disagreed. "I rather doubt our culprit could have planned the cancellation of Superintendent Hakuba's conference."

"The owners of the place get cleared?"

"They weren't acting overly suspicious," Shinichi recalled. "Although..."

"What?" Heiji prompted.

"Pretty much... pretty much all of that blood... it was dumped on  **me** , Hattori," Shinichi said lowly, fingers worrying at the blanket.

"Think it's aimed at you?" Heiji said just as quietly.

"If it were a message to KID about his detectives, then Hakuba, maybe Nakamori-keibu, would have been splashed too. But it was all..." The shrunken teen shivered, blue eyes dark as he leaned forward to pull his legs to his chest. "A message to KID, maybe, but I doubt it. The question is, if I'm the target, then why?"

* * *

Kaito chewed on the end of his pen, brow furrowed as he thought over what he was hearing through the bug that he'd planted under tantei-kun's hospital bed. He had to agree with the chibi's logic, though it wasn't entirely impossible that it was a message for KID. He'd declared multiple times that the boy was his favorite rival; add in KID's "No one gets hurt" rule and boom, threatening message.

He rather hoped it  **was** aimed at him, because if it was aimed at tantei-kun, then either someone had figured out his "little" secret, or someone had it out for Edogawa Conan, who for all intents and purposes was  **seven** , and there was a special hell for people who intended children harm, one that Kaito would gladly escort those belonging there to.

He leaned back in his chair, letting the two detectives' voices wash over him. His phone buzzed on the desk and Kaito reached over to grab it. A text from Hakuba- Kaito's breath caught in his throat at the contents.

_"Results are in on the victim's fingerprints. Match to partials in several unsolved murders in Japan, two in America, and one in England."_

Well, that certainly explained why no one had come forward yet pertaining to the victim's identity, Kaito thought. He sat still, looking at his phone for a long moment before setting it down. There was no use in upsetting either of the detectives right now, not when tantei-kun was getting out of the hospital and would be back in trouble soon enough with his luck. Add tantei-han's presence and Kaito would honestly not be very surprised if a whole troupe of skydivers' parachutes failed and their bodies ended up right in front of tantei-han and tantei-kun with a large cartoonish "SPLAT".

He shook his head to rid himself of such morbidness. He really needed to stop spending so much time with detectives. They were such buzzkills, even when they weren't present!

On the other end of the bug there was the sound of cloth rustling. Not for the first time, Kaito mentally kicked himself for the fact he hadn't planted a camera to go with the bug. He was fairly certain that if anything bad were to happen tantei-kun would get at least one shout off, but guessing was annoying. But maybe...

Kaito stood and walked over to where a couple of his more energetic doves sat on an empty mannequin. "Hey," he cooed, scritching his favorite, Ami, under the chin. "You wanna do me a favor and go watch our favorite tantei?" She titled her head fifty degrees, blinking her beady little bird eyes at him. "Make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble?" Kaito asked. Ami butted her head against his hand and Kaito grinned. "Good girl. Now where did I put that velcro?"

* * *

Haibara Ai was on the warpath. Well, not the actual warpath, after all if she  **was**  there would be a  **lot**  more screaming and dissections. Nevertheless, anyone who crossed her path would be questioning themselves for hours on why such a cute little girl could strike such terror into their hearts just by being in close proximity to her. The answer, that she was a shrunken prodigy scientist who had worked for a cutthroat cult-ish organization since she had been a child the first time around, was not the obvious (or even  **probable** ) one, but correct nonetheless.

So when she opened Kudo-kun's hospital door and greeted him and Hattori with a cheerful, "Good afternoon Edogawa-kun, Hattori-san," she was pleased to note the sweat gathering at their temples, their widened eyes, and the stutter when they returned her greeting. She smiled at Hattori as he stood up, letting her have his chair.

"Thank you Hattori-san," she said. "Now," she continued as she sat, smoothing out the light blue skirt she was wearing, "we have a few minutes before hakase is done finding a parking spot, so if you have anything you'd rather not say in front of him, now is the time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title translation: Reasoning
> 
> Oh, my fav part of writing this chapter was "Heiji protested, hands raised in denial" bc right after I wrote it I just kinda went "heiji, everything about you is in denial lol" like both canonically and in this story EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU IS IN DENIAL HEIJI


	10. Curae

"I'm going to hazard a guess and say this is related to Hattori-san's phone call earlier," Ai said when after a moment or two neither of the boys spoke.

"You called her?" Shinichi hissed.

"I was worried about ya!" Heiji protested. "It's not like you've ever talked to anyone about it!"

"Would either of you mind telling me what exactly I should or shouldn't be worried about?" Ai asked with a raised eyebrow and barely restrained impatience.

Heiji raised his hands in supplication at the glare Shinichi gave him. "I'm not gonna tell her without your say-so Kudo; this  **is**  your problem."

"You seem to have told her enough already," Shinichi muttered, though a little touched.

"Actually he was annoyingly sparse on details," Ai said with a sidelong glare at the Osakan. Heiji shrugged helplessly.

"It's not that important-"

"Considering Hattori-san called me I'd say it is. You interrupted my morning coffee after all." Both boys winced. It was a wonder she hadn't stormed over straight away to wreak vengeance on them.

Shinichi sighed, brow furrowed. "You don't have to pretend to be someone you're not around people you've spent your whole life with, Haibara. The amount of compartmentalization it takes is something I can usually deal with, it just got a little out of hand this time okay?"

"That's why you're in the hospital?" Ai said, disbelieving. "Because you couldn't  **compartmentalize**? Kudo-kun, I have spent the last day and a half fielding Kojima-kun, Tsuburaya-kun, and Yoshida-san's questions and schemes to come visit you in the hospital, not to mention trying to keep them in the dark about what actually happened at the heist, and that was  **before**  you interrupted my morning coffee. I believe an explanation is the least of what I am owed."

"They read the paper?" Shinichi groaned.

"Tsuburaya-kun got to the mail before his parents could go through it," Ai told him, lips pursed in annoyance. "They may not have gone into complete detail in the article, but it was enough to give them an idea of what happened."

"Reporters," Heiji growled. "Give 'em a centimeter and they'll take a whole kilometer."

"I'm surprised there aren't any hanging around here," Ai commented, leaning back against the chair and crossing her arms.

"Perks of being a minor; they couldn't explicitly mention me without occhan's approval," Shinichi said with a snort. "He may be an idiot most of the time, but he has his moments."

"Back to the matter at hand. I can understand them keeping you here over night, but a whole two days? That doesn't fit with your story, Kudo-kun."

Shinichi glared at Ai, who was giving back as good as she got. "There was a lot of blood Haibara, not to mention the body parts. It spooked everyone, including me, you happy? I lost my cool and acted like the child I look like, feel free to make fun of me all you want."

Ai's unimpressed glare shifted into a scowl. "Is that what you think of me? I came because Hattori-kun's phone call made me even more worried than I already was, you idiot!" She leaned forward, tiny hands clenching the guard rail of the hospital bed. "Believe it or not you have people who care about you and want to make sure you're all right, and that includes making sure you're healthy in both body  **and**  mind. That also includes the person who does your blood work on a weekly basis, who closely monitors your health to make sure you aren't about to go into cardiac arrest, and who has to watch you risk yourself on a near daily basis because you have a ridiculous hero complex!"

The room was silent aside from medical monitors as the detectives blinked in shock - Heiji because he'd never heard her be that loud, Shinichi because she usually only showed affection for him in the context of him being her guinea pig.

Realizing exactly what she'd said and how loud she'd gotten near the end of her rant, Ai sat back in the chair, crossing her arms tightly and looking off to the side, a light blush on her cheeks. "Not to mention Agasa-hakase was worried too."

"Haibara..." Shinichi said, unsure what else to say to his fellow vertically challenged associate.

She slid off the chair, the "tap" of her shoes against tile inexplicably loud to her ears. "I'm going to see what's taking Agasa-hakase so long."

"Kudo," Heiji said quietly after she left the room. "About last night, are you going to tell her?"

The shrunken teen said nothing for a moment. "I don't know. It doesn't happen that often, just sometimes when things get to be too much." He looked up at Heiji with a wry half smile. "Separating everything is difficult."

"...yeah," Heiji agreed, not quite buying it. Sure he may not be in exactly Kudo's position, but he's had his fair share of gruesome cases, of gore and viscera and gut wrenching crime scenes and nothing has ever made him act like a completely different person.

He may not be in Kudo's exact position, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to help.

* * *

Saguru didn't often curse, but he felt that this situation warranted it.

He'd used his father's login information to gain access to the fingerprints that had been taken from the... victim, and instated an algorithm to alert him to the results of the search to find a match. Someone in Division Two had friends in high places, since he wasn't completely sure how they were able to put the prints through the Interpol database otherwise. The results linked the victim to several suspicious deaths in Japan, as well as a couple in England and one in America.

Saguru sat back in his computer chair, tenting his fingers and staring at the computer as though it were a criminal refusing to talk. People didn't just drop dead, yet it seemed that that was just what these people had done, all within the last two years. Was the victim some kind of assassin? No prints had been found on the bodies, just one or two on or near the scene, in mostly innocuous places. How did you kill someone without a trace? Some kind of poison most likely, but nothing indicating that had been found in any of the victims.

 _An untraceable poison?_  Saguru thought with a mental shudder before he sent Kuroba a text about the fingerprints being linked to the unsolved murders, for that's what they were, all plausible deniability aside.

Speaking of plausible deniability, there was still that whole mess with Koizumi-san and Kuroba, not to mention Edogawa-kun. Thinking back on the negotiations (because it was hardly a civil conversation), he could remember things a bit clearer than he had experienced them at the time. There was something about Koizumi-san that fogged his head and made simply  **thinking**  about something other than her very difficult, not without it going places a gentleman had no right thinking about.

But the fact that both Koizumi-san and Kuroba claimed she was a witch of all things... The existence of magic notwithstanding, this actually explained a couple things, like the day Kuroba had a cold that he had mentioned earlier, and the one KID heist where the thief had departed on a  **broom**  of all things! If Koizumi-san was a witch who wanted Kuroba for herself, it made sense to keep the authorities from catching him. Maybe that was why he kept slipping through the Task Force's fingers; a spell to keep him safe.

Then there was the other thing Koizumi-san had said, about Kudo Shinichi. Visiting Edogawa-kun had turned up no leads on the case, especially with his overprotective guard dog, and Saguru couldn't think of anyone else who he could possibly contact the other detective through if not the boy who spoke of him so familiarly and who bore a strong family resemblance to him. Kudo-san had been the darling of the media right up until his disappearance.

Wait a minute.

Saguru thought back to how on edge Hattori had been when he mentioned Kudo, and how he physically stood between Saguru and Edogawa-kun, as if shielding the boy. Add the familiar way the Osakan treated the boy, and how he and Kudo were the Detectives of the West and East respectively...

Something had happened to Kudo Shinichi, something that made him go into hiding or had endangered him and possibly his family, judging by Hattori's protectiveness of Edogawa-kun (then again, the boy did seem to get into a lot of trouble on his own). Add to that the facts the body parts found at the KID heist belonged to someone who possibly committed untraceable murders and the blood itself had been dumped on Edogawa-kun, and Saguru had the feeling that Koizumi-san had been speaking literally when she said that Kudo Shinichi's life was tied to this case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title translation: Care
> 
> A/N: Hey everyone, new chapter! I'm currently focusing my efforts on this story, Shadow Bride, and AWW. The plan is to do one chapter a week for one story, then move onto one of the other stories for the next week, rinse and repeat. Last week I updated Shadow Bride, this week it's Schismatic, so next week will be AWW before we repeat the cycle. 
> 
> Ai bby you're so tsundere x3 Also, we will be leaving the hospital next chapter. FINALLY.
> 
> Remember that reviews/con crit are heavily welcomed, and also go check out my Etsy shop where I sell SU-inspired bracelets, SPN-inspired bracelets, Hogwarts House bracelets, and other cool jewelry :)


	11. Exsolvo

Several minutes after Ai left the room, Agasa showed up looking mildly worried. "How are you feeling Shinichi?" he asked quietly, taking in Ai's absence and both the detectives' pensive expressions.

"I'm all right," Shinichi replied. "Not hurt or anything."

"That's good," Agasa said with a soft sigh of relief. "Ran-kun said you weren't physically hurt, that it was a precaution to keep you here, but you know how I worry."

"Yeah," Shinichi smiled fondly.

Agasa took one of the chairs against the wall and moved it closer to the bed, next to where Heiji sat. "Do you know when you'll be released?"

"Today actually," Shinichi told him. "They're done with the tests to make sure I didn't get hepatitis or anything from accidentally swallowing something. The doctor should have left a message for Ran or occhan to let them know."

"That's great!" Agasa beamed.

"Yeah, out of the hospital and back to getting into trouble," Heiji teased. "Think I'll stick around a couple of days to make sure ya don't get into anything  **too** dangerous." He fixed Shinichi with a meaningful look. "If there is some psycho out there gunning for ya, he'll have ta go through me first."

"You get shot enough as it is," Shinichi retorted, cheeks a light red. "Kazuha would kill me if something bad happened to you."

"Not while you look all cute and stuff," Heiji chuckled, ruffling Shinichi's hair.

"Baaro," Shinichi huffed, rolling his eyes and swatting at Heiji.

Agasa chuckled, glad that the boy he thought of something close to a son was all right. "Oh, Ai-kun!" he greeted as she entered the room, her face pinched. "Shinichi is getting released today!"

"That's good," Ai said with a short nod. "I've barely been able to fend off the kids' questions as it is."

There was a somewhat heavy silence, and Agasa looked from the detectives to Ai and back. "Is everything all right?" he asked with a frown.

"We had a disagreement on what constitutes concern," Ai said with a scowl in Shinichi's direction.

The inscrutable expression on Shinichi's face made Agasa's frown deepen before he decided that this was probably something that the kids should deal with among themselves without outside interference. "So, Heijii-kun," he started. "How are things in Osaka?"

They made small talk for a while before Ran arrived, a warm smile on her face. "Hello," she greeted Ai and Agasa before focusing on the boy in the bed. "How are you feeling Conan-kun?"

"I'm fine Ran-neechan," he replied with a bright smile. "More than ready to leave."

"Otou-san's filling out the discharge papers now," she said. "Oh, and I brought some clothes for you." She handed him a small bag she drew out of her schoolbag.

"Another set?"

"What?" Ran asked.

"The doctor said you brought a change of clothes for me yesterday," Conan replied.

"Yeah," Heiji agreed.

"Well, I didn't," Ran said, a slightly worried frown creasing her brow.

"He did say "Mouri-san", maybe he meant occhan," Conan suggested, finger under his chin as he stared at the clothes.

"Would've been nice if he'd said something," Ran huffed. "Honestly, forgetting about something like that..." She stalked over to the door and called down the hall, "Otou-san!" before walking down the hall.

"I believe that is our cue to leave Ai-kun," Agasa said, rising from his chair with a slight groan. "My knees just aren't what they used to be," he complained.

"Let's go," Ai said, ushering the professor to the door before turning back. "Be careful Kudo-kun," she said in a low voice.

He nodded to her with a serious expression before she and Agasa left, going down the same hall Ran had just gone.

"Do you really think it was occhan?" Heiji asked. Before he could get an answer Ran and her father entered the room, the former dragging the latter by the ear, with Dr. Furude following behind them.

"Really otou-san, you could've just told me!" Ran scolded before letting go of his ear.

"But I didn't!" Mouri protested, rubbing at his ear. "I would remember if I did something like that!"

"Mouri-san, according to the nurse on duty at the time,  **you**  dropped the clothes off," Dr. Furude said to Ran.

"I didn't though," Ran said with a worried expression.

"Maybe it was Kaitou KID," Heiji said, thinking aloud. He looked up, feeling the eyes of everyone in the room on him. "With how good he is at disguise, it'd be easy enough for him ta do something like this, right?"

"I guess so," Ran agreed. "After what happened at the heist, maybe he felt sorry."

"Tch! Why would he, he's a criminal!" Mouri said, crossing his arms and glowering.

"Ran-neechan's right," Conan piped up. "He usually tries to make sure innocent people don't get hurt. It wasn't KID who planned this heist, but someone else using his name."

"Whoever it was, he'd better not do it again," Mouri growled. "What kind of sick bastard..." He trailed off, muttering darkly to himself.

Ran rolled her eyes a little but smiled at her father. "Otou-san, don't talk like that in front of Conan-kun," she chided gently.

Dr. Furude cleared his throat. "If nothing else is needed, I'll be going."

"Eh? Yeah, yeah, we're fine," Mouri said.

"I hope not to see you again for a while, Conan-kun," Dr. Furude said with a small smile. "Stay well."

"Un!" the boy nodded before the doctor left the room. He then grabbed the clothes Ran had brought. "I'm going to go change."

"Heji-kun," Ran said once Conan had shut the door to the bathroom. "How is he doing?"

"He's doing... okay," the Osakan replied a little hesitantly. "Couple nightmares, but overall good."

"That's good," Ran said with a slight sigh. She sat on the chair Agasa had used. "He doesn't really open up about the important things, you know. Always getting into trouble-" She shook her head.

"Maybe putting a leash on him for a while would help," Mouri suggested from where he leaned against the wall.

"Otou-san!" Ran huffed while Heiji snickered. She looked out the window at the bright sunlight filtering through the trees. "What a pretty bird," she remarked absently.

"I'm ready to go," Conan announced, coming out of the bathroom in a green t-shirt and jeans.

Ran and Heiji stood up, and the former extended her hand. "Let's go home," she said, and Conan nodded in agreement with a bright smile.

* * *

"Let me out of here," Vodka growled from the cot he was strapped to.

"Now now, you know I can't do that," Vermouth drawled from the other side of the room. Her fingers itched for a cigarette. "You tore your IVs out twice already; gave poor Mimosa such a fright."

"I need to get out of here and find that bastard!" he snarled, bloodshot eyes that were normally hidden behind shades glaring at Vermouth.

She glared straight back. "Need I remind you that "that bastard" killed one of our best operatives, and put you in critical condition?"

"He killed Aniki," Vodka said in a whisper. "He needs to fucking  **die _._** "

"Welsh got the upper hand because you underestimated him," Vermouth said. "Because he was a low level member. We'll catch him," she reassured him, "but you need to rest and recuperate. It's what he would have wanted." She frowned down at the text she'd just gotten. "Someone's been snooping," she murmured. "Naughty, naughty detective."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title translation: Release
> 
> A/N: Hey everyone! New chapter, new information, new complications ;3 Hope everyone has enjoyed the chapter despite its length, and I cackle evilly while rubbing my hands together at the thought of future chapters and what everyone's reactions will be.
> 
> Remember to review please!


	12. Amplector

Shinichi had always been a fan of personal space. Growing up without siblings and only having a couple of close friends while his parents ran around doing their own thing didn't exactly make him very outgoing. Combine with that his penchant for stumbling across crimes that often showcased the worst humanity had to offer and he wasn't one prone to see the best in every person he met. Not like Ran.

It got worse after he became Conan. He had almost been killed,  **had**  felt the worst kind of physical agony thus far in his entire life. Everything was so much bigger, and actions that had seemed so simple before now required gargantuan efforts on his part. On top of all this, he had almost no one to turn to, to confide in.

Hakase was helpful sometimes, but more for making new gadgets than helping Shinichi with the amount of emotional backlash he was experiencing. The gadgets  **did**  help somewhat, made him feel less inadequate, less helpless, but it was like putting a flimsy bandaid on a gunshot wound. In the long run, ultimately fruitless.

It took a toll on him, pretending he was someone different, especially with Ran. He was living a lie,  **was**  a lie.

And then there were the kids. The Shounen Tantei were completely unexpected, not that much of Shinichi's life had been very predictable at that point beyond running into corpses almost daily. Having... friends who were so much younger alternated between mind numbing and strangely helpful. On the one hand, they were ten years younger than him and drove him crazy with childish concerns. On the other hand, they could be surprisingly considerate and were often more observant than many (including himself) gave them credit for.

Conan slowly became less of an act.

Where Shinichi took his coffee almost straight black, Conan enjoyed four scoops of sugar and a dash of cream. Shinichi relished the limelight from the compliments his classmates paid him at how well he did in class, at soccer, at mysteries, while Conan accepted them modestly, giving a perfunctory "thank you" before quietly basking in the acceptance. Shinichi could not have cared less what he wore unless it related to a case somehow, but Conan's neechan, not to mention Ayumi and Haibara, would give him such despairing looks if he wore something strange that usually guilted him into changing. Shinichi delighted in impressing people with his intellect and would backsass the hell out of anyone who doubted him. Conan sat back and let them be hoisted by their own petard.

There were a select few that Shinichi had let stay close to him. Those close to Conan usually wormed their way in without him noticing until they were hugging him or patting him on the back and it took all he had to relax because he was such a normal kid, wasn't he normal?

Ran practically clinging to him in the car on the way back was annoying but also somewhat calming, because this was Ran. She was his best friend, his older sister, someone he loved very dearly, enough to tolerate the almost unnoticeable way she smoothed his hair back or held his hand or touched his arm as if to reassure herself he was there, that he was safe.

And here he thought that a few weeks after the incident at Tokyo Tower would be enough time for Ran to calm down. She hadn't been conscious when Irish chased him, when Irish was shot, when the helicopter Gin had been in fired on the observation deck, when he jumped off the tower with only his suspenders keeping him from fatally splattering against the ground. She'd been awake in the aftermath, when he had to feed his story about the fake Matsumoto to Sato and Takagi, to tell them how he'd hid until the imposter was gone, and that the bruises were from before Ran got there and the cuts from when that helicopter had fired on the tower, and no he had no idea who they were or why they would kill the fake Matsumoto.

She'd hovered then, much like she was hovering now. It was almost twice as bad since Hattori was here, leaning in close like she was, his two closest friends, the both of them worried so much about him, about Conan.

Hell, even occhan kept his eyes on the rear view mirror, on Conan in the backseat. He must have really freaked him out at the heist, covered in all that blood and screaming. Say what you will about the man's skill as an investigator, but when it came to kids, especially ones he cared about, he was frighteningly competent.

Conan laughed at something Ran-neechan said to Hattori-niichan and Shinichi rolled his eyes at Hattori's sputtered response. Sandwiched between the two of them was a bit smothering to Shinichi, but to be out of the hospital, to be away from the smell of antiseptic and the stark white walls was a relief to them both.

The car pulled up to the Detective Agency and Ran exclaimed, "Look, Conan-kun!"

He peered out the window and blinked in surprise to see Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko standing on the sidewalk with Agasa and Ai. Ran opened the car door and Conan clambered out over her lap before she could take her seat belt off. He heard Hattori snicker behind him but ignored it. "You guys..." he said before he was besieged by seven year olds.

"You're back!" Ayumi squealed, hugging him tightly and ow that was possibly going to bruise.

"How," he managed to get out before Mitsuhiko interrupted him.

"Agasa-hakase and Haibara-san told us you were out of the hospital!" the freckled boy exclaimed, a wide grin on his face as he stood a bit closer than his normal politeness would let him.

"We're gonna catch the guy who put you in there," Genta declared, crossing his arms and frowning deeply. "No one messes with the Shounen Tantei and gets away with it!"

"Yeah!" Ayumi agreed, letting go of Conan and letting him breathe. "And we're gonna get ice cream to celebrate!"

He looked at the three of them, then over to Haibara and the professor. The latter grinned at him while the former gave a small smirk. He raised an eyebrow at her before turning his attention back to the others. "Thanks," he said, because what else could he say to them right now? There would be time enough later to convince them to leave the case to the police, though they probably wouldn't listen since Shinichi and Conan both tended to lead by "do as I say, not as I do".

For now, Ayumi's suggestion of ice cream actually sounded very good.

* * *

Above the reuniting children a lone dove perched on the Detective Agency windowsill. She peered at the human she recognized as having taking care of her before when she had been injured. A small velcro band around her leg attached to a small camera. Her master was worried about something, though she wasn't sure what since humans worried about many things. She gave a small coo before stretching her wings in flight to follow the group of smaller humans as they walked off down the street, the larger humans accompanying them.

Down the street in an unmarked car a pair of eyes belonging to a man of average height and average weight watched the group as well. His eyes narrowed at the way everyone seemed to cluster around the boy in the glasses before he got out of his car and locked it. He had a rather gaunt face, his brown eyes close set over a thin nose. His brown hair was cut close to his head and the cap he wore mostly covered a deep purple bruise on his forehead. He strode toward the Detective Agency nonchalantly, head high. 

No one was around to see him go up the stairs and pick the lock to the door on the first landing. He had work to do after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title translation: Embrace
> 
>  **A/N:** Ehehehehehehe I love cliffhangers :D And yay for Shinichi POV and stuff! He is the protagonist after all ;3 Also this is turning poly really super fast idek what's going on maybe KaiShinRanHei??? that actually sounds really good, it might be a thing (though i really like queerplatonic ShinRan too ugh idk)
> 
> Hope you all are having a wonderful NaNoWriMo (or just November), and don't forget to review!


	13. Continor

Ran smiled fondly as Conan was caught up in the whirlwind that was the Shounen Tantei. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko and Genta were full of a boisterous energy that seemed to lift Conan's spirits at least a little. All four of them had bowls of ice cream in front of them, though Genta's was the only empty one. The fifth member of their little group had a parfait in front of her and she took small bites occasionally.

Heiji sat to her left, a soft smile on his face as well as he watched Conan, who was on her right. Her father sat across from them chewing on an unlit cigarette, while Agasa drank from the water glass that Ai had ordered instead of anything sweet.

"So," she said, only paying a little attention to the conversation about Kamen Yaiba the kids were having, "I forgot to ask this earlier, but where is Kazuha-chan?"

An alarmed look came over Heiji's face. "Shit," he muttered. "I mean, shoot," he backtracked at the disapproving look Ran gave him. "I didn't tell her where I was going, just packed and came down here. Did she call you?"

"No," Ran said, shaking her head. "It's a little strange, seeing you without her."

"Yeah, like a clingy shadow sometimes," Heiji muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ran resisted the urge to tug at his ear or punch him. It would be better for him to find out about Kazuha-chan's feelings from the person in question, not from Ran. She wondered if this was what Sonoko felt like with her and Shinichi. But then again, she and Shinichi weren't that bad, were they? They talked about things! ...Sometimes. Not all that often really. Actually, when was the last time he'd called and she hadn't felt like there was an unbridgeable gulf between them, like even if he did come back right then that they would never be the same?

She fought to keep the frown she could feel coming on off her face, not wanting to disturb the happy atmosphere that surrounded the children now that they could see Conan-kun was out of the hospital.

And wasn't that a whole other set of issues?

With a deliberate sense of calm she forced her fists to unclench where they sat in her lap, mentally counting back from ten as she regulated her breathing to a controlled rhythm. She had seen a lot of dead bodies since Conan-kun came into her life, not to mention the ones that she ran into with Shinichi those few times. It would be reasonable to assume that such a thing had numbed her to death, to violence, but that just wasn't true.

If anything, it made each subsequent body, each horrible tale of deceit and betrayal and vengeance even worse, because surely humanity couldn't be this terrible, this brutal, but it  **was.**  It made her so sad, but it also gave birth to a low ember of anger, an inner fire that blazed when those she cared about were threatened. Say what you would about how polite and peaceful Mouri Ran was, but she was fierce when it was warranted, capable of breaking bones and cracking walls with a steel resolve.

That someone had threatened someone she cared about in such a way - Ran stole a glance at the boy she had come to regard as a younger brother and couldn't help but see Shinichi in him, behind the glasses and in his mannerisms. But he was different too, and every other time she'd thought he was Shinichi she'd been proven wrong. Besides, it was ridiculous to even think about - honestly, how could someone physically regress ten years?

(there were so many cases though, so many "impossible" murders that Shinichi had solved - it made sense that he could do something this impossible too)

"Yoko-chan!"

Ran was torn from her thoughts by her father's elated yelp. She looked up to see Okino Yoko, a famous idol whom her father had the biggest crush on. The young woman wasn't wearing anything flashy and a large pair of sunglasses obscured much of the upper half of her face, though the flat brimmed hat she had on didn't help much.

"Otou-san!" Ran scolded with a light scowl. "Can't you see she's trying to avoid attention?"

"Mouri-san," Yoko greeted with a slightly strained smile as she came up to their table. "How are you doing?"

"Very well, even better now that you're here," he said with a wink.

Ran resisted the urge to facepalm and/or slap him. "Otou-san," she groaned.

"It's all right Ran-san," Yoko said. "Is this a celebration of some kind?" she asked, looking around the table at the group.

"Conan-kun's out of the hospital!" Ayumi informed her cheerfully.

"The hospital?" Yoko asked. Ran could barely make out her dark blue eyes widening behind her sunglasses and a hand went up to cover her mouth. "Oh my, so that article in the newspaper... oh dear, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Conan said, looking a little nervous under the idol's well meaning scrutiny. "I wasn't hurt."

"That's good," Yoko said. "For someone to do something like that, and to involve a little boy like you? He must be an absolute monster."

There was a short silence after her vehement declaration before Ran said, "So, Yoko-san, are you here for the ice cream?"

"Ah, yes!" the idol said, a small smile crossing her face. "A couple of my friends really enjoy the ice cream here, and I was closest so I came to pick some up."

"Is Mizunashi Rena-san one of them?" Conan piped up, something sharp in his gaze. Ran bit back a sigh.

"Yes," Yoko replied. "It's been a while since we've seen each other, after her accident and everything. By the way, thank you Mouri-san," she said, giving a small bow to Kogoro. "I don't believe I properly thanked you for taking her case. Even if it was just a child in the end, I appreciated your help."

"Well, nothing is too difficult for Meitantei Mouri Kogoro!" the detective boasted, puffing his chest and laughing noisily. Nearly everyone at the table sweatdropped at his grandstanding.

Yoko smiled. "Indeed," she agreed. "I'm running a little behind schedule so I must be going."

"Have a good day Yoko-chan!" Kogoro said with a grin.

Yoko smiled and gave a nod. "Stay well Conan-kun," she said to the boy. "Don't worry your neechan too much."

"Okay," Conan mumbled, his cheeks red.

"So that was  **the**  Okino Yoko-san, huh?" Heiji said after the idol went up to the counter. "I didn't really believe the shrimp when he said y'all knew her."

"Shut it," Conan muttered, ignoring the teasing grin the older boy sent his way.

Ran smiled lightly.  _Boys,_  she thought fondly.

* * *

Toyama Kazuha was pretty easygoing most of the time. She had a temper that flared easily and was nothing short of spectacular if it involved or was related to her childhood friend Hattori Heiji.

"Leave me all alone while he goes to Tokyo, huh?" she muttered to herself as she stalked down the sidewalk, a couple of blocks from her destination. "I'll teach that ahou to leave me behind to cover for him with both our parents,  **especially**  his!" Frankly put, Heiji's parents were somewhat terrifying. True she'd known them from when she was a baby, but Heiji's mom could stop swords with a closed fan and his father had a temper that easily outstripped her own. That Heiji had turned out as well adjusted as he was was a bit of a miracle (and also Otaki-han's influence, bless his heart).

The people on the sidewalk parted easily before Kazuha, her anger apparent to all, so it was even more of a surprise when she ran into someone. She bounced back, righting herself just in time to prevent herself from sprawling across the ground. "Ah! I'm-" She didn't finish as the man she'd ran into just walked off, not even acknowledging her.

Kazuha huffed, both annoyed and bewildered. "Weird," she remarked before walking down the rest of the block to the Mouri Detective Agency. If she knew Heiji - and she did - he would be with Conan-kun. He wasn't answering his phone so it was possible he was over at the hospital, but Kazuha had no desire whatsoever to go on a wild goose chase across Tokyo; thus her first stop was at Ran-chan's home.

She climbed the stairs and knocked on the door to the agency door. After a moment of no answer she called out, "Hello! Ran-chan, are you home?" There was still no answer and Kazuha frowned before climbing the second flight of stairs to the door of the apartment and repeating her actions. Only silence greeted her.

With a frown and a grumbled tirade about stupid idiots who couldn't answer their phones, she tried to call Heiji again but only got his voicemail. She then tried to call Ran but the faint sound of the other girl's ringtone informed her that her phone was in the apartment.

Kazuha groaned and walked down to the bottom of the stairs.  _Nothing to do but wait,_  she reasoned. She pouted and sat down. "I'm gonna make Heiji go deaf when I see him," she said to herself, making a passerby look at her strangely. She ignored him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title translation: Encounter
> 
>  **A/N:** Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I figured we all deserved a present, so here's two chapters, that's right, count 'em, **two** , for your reading pleasure! I'm so pleased you're all enjoying the story, and I can't wait to see/read/hear everyone's reactions to what's yet to come >:3
> 
> Also, I've decided to go with queer/platonic ShinRan bc they are besties :D
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy, and remember that reviews/con crit are very very welcome!!


	14. Conventus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it! I uploaded two chapters today as a present so make sure you've read the previous chapter before this one! 
> 
> Also, trigger warning for blood/gore.

It was Agasa who brought things to an end about twenty minutes after Yoko left. "We should be getting you home before dinner," he said to the children.

"And we wouldn't want to spoil yours," Ai added with a side glance at him. He chuckled nervously.

"Can't we stay a little longer?" Genta complained.

"Yeah!" Ayumi agreed, hugging Conan's arm to her with a pout.

"Oi oi," he muttered, not pulling away because that way lay tears and murderous looks from Genta and Mitsuhiko.

"We should be getting back," Ran said. She turned to Heiji. "You could stay with us tonight if you wanted, Heiji-kun."

"Maybe ask first before volunteering my room," Kogoro protested. He quailed under the steel smile in the polite gaze his daughter gave him.

"It would be all right, wouldn't it?" Ran asked sweetly. Her father mumbled an affirmative and only then did her smile soften.

"I'm cool with that," Heiji said with a grin. "Oh, Ku-nan-kun, you've got something..." He pointed at the lower half of his right cheek.

"Here?" Conan rubbed at the wrong spot, completely missing it.

Ran chuckled. "No, it's-" She and Heiji reached for the napkin between them at the same time, their fingers touching. An eternal second passed and then Heiji pulled his hand back like he'd been burnt.

"Sorry," he said, dark cheeks slightly flushed.

"It's fine," Ran said, a little bewildered. What did he have to be embarrassed for? It wasn't like either of them were interested in each other, after all he had Kazuha and she...

Ran firmly ended that thought and wiped the ice cream off of Conan's face. "There, that's better," she said with a smile. He smiled back, cheeks pink.

"We'll be able to see each other tomorrow," he said, turning to Ayumi and the others. "Saturday, remember? Besides, the doctor said I should get plenty of sleep!" he chirped brightly.

"That's right, you'll need to get to bed early tonight," Ran agreed. She stifled a giggle at the look on Conan's face. "No late night TV for you."

"Hai," he muttered.

"And I'll help," Heiji snickered.

"Well then, we'd better be going," Agasa said, pushing his chair out and standing up. "C'mon kids." There was assorted grumbling from the three of them and Ayumi gave Conan a quick tight hug.

Ai lingered for a moment before saying, "Take care of yourself Edogawa-kun," in a quiet voice. Before he could reply she followed the other kids and Agasa out the door.

"...Bye Haibara," Conan said to the empty spot she'd been standing. He pushed the stack of empty bowls to the middle of the table while Ran and Heiji put back the chairs that they'd swiped from a nearby table.

"I'm going over to the police station," Kogoro said outside of the shop. "I have to discuss some things with Megure-keibu."

"Do you want me to save some food for you?" Ran offered but he shook his head.

"I'll get something to eat on the way back. You just keep these two troublemakers in line," he said, giving Heiji and Conan a Look.

"No need to worry about us," Heiji promised. "We'll be good, right Conan-kun?"

"Un!" Conan said with an angelic smile.

Ran rolled her eyes. "It'll be fine otou-san." She gave him a hug before she and Heiji and Conan started walking back the couple of blocks to the agency.

"I meant what I said earlier," she said after a moment, catching the attention of both the boys. "You're going to bed early tonight Conan-kun. I know you've spent the last couple of days in bed, but we need to keep you from getting stressed."

A strange look passed over Conan's face and he opened his mouth to say something.

"HEIJI!"

The three of them looked up, startled by the angry shout.

"Kazuha-chan!" Ran called but she was ignored.

"You ahou!" Kazuha fumed. "Do you know what I have been through the past day because of you?"

The look of terror on his face shouldn't have been so funny, but Ran was allowed to be a little vindictive.

"K-Kazuha, I didn't-"

"You didn't tell me where you were going, you just up and left without so much as a word to anyone asides from your mom! I couldn't get a hold of you, I was worried sick!" The slight difference in their heights had no bearing on Kazuha getting up in Heiji's face, and she was now practically growling at him. "Do you know what it's like having yer mother practically interrogate ya? It's hell!" she snapped before he could answer. "She's half convinced yer shacking up with someone in Tokyo because of how often ya come down here, always sayin' it's Kudo-kun when he's nowhere around!"

"Hey, that's not-" Heiji stopped at the venomous glare Kazuha gave him.

"An' then yer dad can't get ahold of ya and somehow it's  **my**  fault because obviously we're joined at the hip except you don't tell me anything!"

"Kazuha-chan!" Ran interrupted firmly. "Could you maybe take this inside?"

The Osakan girl seemed to realize just where she was. "Ah I'm sorry Ran-chan! I got kinda carried away..."

"Let's keep the shouting to a minimum?" Ran asked, tone polite. "Conan-kun just got out of the hospital today."

"He did?" Kazuha turned to the boy with an earnest expression. "That's great ta hear Conan-kun! Sorry Heiji's being such a jerk."

"Hey!" Heiji protested but did not continue for fear of further riling his childhood friend.

The group went up the stairs to the apartment and removed their shoes inside.

"Conan-kun, why don't you go put your things away," Ran suggested. "Heiji-kun, go with him. Kazuha-chan, do you want to help me make dinner?"

"Sure," Kazuha agreed as the boys took Ran's suggested and fled the room. "Sorry about outside," she apologized again. "I took the train down here an' he wasn't answering his phone and once I got here no one was here and I tried to call you but  **you**  weren't picking up, and-"

"You called me?" Ran frowned. "I don't remember getting any calls..." She fished around in her pockets and bag. "I must've forgotten it here."

"Yeah, when I called I could hear yer ringtone comin' from the agency," Kazuha said.

"Excuse me for a minute while I get it?" Ran asked.

"Yeah, go ahead." Kazuha pulled a pot out. "I'll start boilin' some water."

"Thanks," Ran smiled. She slipped her slippers on and went down the stairs to the agency door. "Ah, there it is!" she said with a sigh, picking it up from the table. There were two missed calls, both from Kazuha, a few minutes apart. As she turned to leave, something caught her eye.

There was a box on her father's desk. It was on the larger side, about the size you would put a cake in. It was brown, undecorated, and there was a card on top.

Ran did not remember seeing it earlier that day before they went to the hospital.

She approached the package with a slight amount of trepidation. A few inches away from it she stopped and listened. Everything was still and quiet, the sound of her own heartbeat the loudest thing she could hear, though there was a strange smell this close, something vaguely familiar.  _Probably not a bomb_ , she thought, and closed the rest of the distance.

The card was white, typed print, and she pulled her sleeve over her hand so she could pick it up.

 _To my partner in destiny,_  the card read.  _He is yours as I am, though I am infinitely more useful. I am here for you._

It sent chills down her spine, and her mouth was dry. She put the card down on the desk and picked up her phone. With lightly shaking fingers she typed in a series of numbers. Only few seconds passed before Kazuha answered.

"Kazuha-chan," Ran said and even to herself her voice sounded strange.

"Ran-chan? What's wrong?"

"Could you and Heiji-kun come down here?"

"What's wrong?" Kazuha repeated, and in the background Ran could hear Heiji asking who was on the phone.

"Try to keep Conan-kun away. There's a package here and I don't know what's in it - I don't think it's a bomb, but I'm-"

"We'll be right down." That was Heiji and Kazuha must have put the phone on speaker. A minute, tops, passed and Heiji burst in first, Kazuha and Conan behind him and dammit didn't she say-

"Sorry," Kazuha apologized, though she kept Conan back as Heiji came over to the desk with a box cutter. "He wouldn't stay."

"Thanks," Ran said with a tremulous smile before addressing Heiji, whose expression was deadly serious. "It might just be nothing, it-"

"It's fine," Heiji said softly, meeting her eyes. "You did the right thing neechan." He carefully cut down the tape and Ran couldn't move, could barely breathe, foreboding swelling in her temples like a migraine as Heiji pulled the flaps back.

Light hair matted with blood caught her eye first and there was so  **much**  of it - hair, not blood - surrounding the head like a halo, a color somewhere between blonde and white, but she couldn't mistake it for a woman, because those cold cold eyes, she had seen them before, she had-

_The thrill of the coaster, holding Shinichi's hand and then blood, so much blood, and those two men, so suspicious, so strangely dressed but Shinichi said they were innocent, said they hadn't killed that man (no it was the woman with the necklace, and seriously, what the **fuck?** ), and they were nervous, so suspicious, and the man with the long hair, Shinichi had had such a strange look on his face, almost fearful-_

She knew this suspicious man from Tropical Land the day Shinichi disappeared.

She remembered him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title translation: Rendezvous
> 
>  **A/N:** *insert gif of Rogues from _Holy Musical B@man!_ singing "Muahahahahahaha"* Chapter 13 bc BAD LUCK THIRTEEN MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
> 
> Oh man, I've been looking forward to this for like five chapters now :D Feel free to shriek incoherently at me over on my tumblr :3 Warning, IT ONLY GETS WORSE FROM HERE ON OUT well ok no it does get a bit better but it gETS WORSE BEFORE THINGS ARE RESOLVED
> 
> Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter~!


	15. Announcement

Hello everyone! Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to you all. I'm afraid I come with sort of bad news.

During the past couple of weeks I've been having trouble sleeping, mood swings, and during the last week or so have been feeling generally tired, nauseous, and dead inside. This all kind of culminated tonight (Christmas) after a long day of schmoozing with relatives and I realized the cause is probably because I haven't been taking my antidepressants. I found out earlier this year that some antidepressants can suppress/decrease libido and I had a bit of an existential crisis because I'd been on antidepressants since I was 13 and was terrified to think that maybe I wasn't actually asexual, that it was the meds' fault. Then I was finding a new job and quitting my old one and feeling relatively fine so getting back on my meds slipped my mind.

Honestly I'm surprised I lasted this long without them.

Long story short, updating my fics will be put on hold for a few weeks while I get back on my meds and get my life back into shape. During the past couple weeks I've struggled to get even a couple hundred words down and frankly it would be an insult to all of you if I tried to force myself, because it would not be my best writing, or where the story should be going, and we all deserve better than that.

My apologies to those of you who thought this would be an update (especially to those of you who I told I was going to update today, something which i was determined to do until i realized that i needed to chill the fuck out and take care of my health). I plan to resume updating sometime mid/late January on the same three-week rotation schedule I have been using recently. All three stories will be updated the same day, then Schismatic the following week, A Wonderful World (of Magic) a week later, and then Shadow Bride the next week, continuing where the cycle was broken when I wasn't able to update Schismatic last week.

Sorry for the delay, and I hope your holidays and 2016 are good for/to you :)


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